Kingdom For Two
by ChronicallyChill
Summary: Twenty feet. There's only twenty feet between their houses. But some days it felt like they were in different continents. Childhood friends turned secret lovers. Real Life AU Warning: ShiItaIzu is a pairing in this fic
1. Late Night Visits

**Author's Note:**

 **And here goes my second attempt at a fanfic.**

 **For fans of The Planning Of A Matriarch because of how light it is and all of the fluff but not of sexual and/or angsty situations, I'm sorry but this isn't the fic for you.**

 **I don't want to have to give warnings for sexual content at the top of a chapter. I'm not writing a smut story but it will still happen in my Real Life AU.**

 **If it really turns you off, I'm sorry but maybe this story isn't for you.**

 **I feel weird calling this angsty, I wanna say it's more drama-filled instead because it is more realistic than TPOAM was. Because it is a Real Life AU.**

 **Well, enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer** _ **:**_ **This story will utilize characters and situations that are the copyright of Masashi Kishimoto, Shueisha, Shonen Jump, and Viz Media. ChronicallyChill is in no way associated with the creator or producers of Naruto and no copyright infringement is intended. Obviously this is a fanfic meant solely for the entertainment of the fanfic author and (hopefully) it's readers.**

* * *

 **Chapter One: Late Night Visits**

Sounds. At night all sounds have a tendency to seem much louder than during the day. Loud in contrast to the heavy silence that blanketed the small, secluded suburban neighborhood.

Sasuke shifted onto his back, arm thrown over his eyes. The loudness of the nighttime noises made it difficult to sleep. Difficult to breathe. But not difficult to think and to feel.

With little effort, Sasuke focused on the sounds of the CPAP machine in the room next door. The whirring and heavy breathing sounds did nothing to alleviate the anxiety he felt. It should have been a welcoming sound because it was doing it's job but the sound was grating because it reminded him that the damn machine was needed at all.

Throwing his sheets aside, Sasuke made his way to his desk and started up his desktop. His father was the only person he knew that would buy his son a desktop computer _and_ a laptop in the name of studying. No excuses, he would always have a means to work and to strive to be the best. Something that he was failing at ever since he had transferred out of his private school, Oto Prep, to the local public school.

Fugaku Uchiha didn't even yell or lecture Sasuke. He just gave him the same impassive look he had when Sasuke was younger, like he had expected Sasuke to come in second place. Sasuke would have felt insulted about that considering he was top at the harsh and strict environment of Oto if it weren't for the fact he knew there was no way to surpass the person ranking first in academics at Konoha High. She had always beaten him in written tests when they were younger. Apparently his father never forgot that fact.

His mother, Mikoto, and his older brother Itachi seemed to be the only ones that were glad for the transfer. Who cared if he wasn't the highest scoring student if he was happier? Because Sasuke was not happy at Oto. He made three friends there and he joined the basketball team but being happy wasn't something that happened at Oto. It was a toxic place that would either burn you out until you wished you were dead or made you start slowly─or quickly─killing yourself, depending on how dependant on drugs you were or how far you were willing to toe the line between "study aid" and recreational use.

Sasuke ran his fingers through his unkempt hair and all but slammed on the keys to unlock his Mac and start up iTunes. Distraction. He needed a distraction. A distraction from the whirring and from the sounds of wet coughing when his brother woke up to shuffle his way over to the restroom.

As the crooning of the lead singer warbled out of his speakers, Sasuke made his way over back to his bed and threw himself on top of it. He curled up with a pillow on the farther side of his bed and inhaled. Disappointed to smell only his cinnamon and mint scent he tossed it aside. His sheets and pillows hadn't smelled like apples in over a week and it was starting to put him on edge how dependant he became on that smell to relax.

Sleep wouldn't be coming that night. Not when his distraction of choice was next door, nose in a book, having yet another night of cramming.

* * *

No matter how crowded the halls, she was always easy to find. Either because of her hair or because she was always with a taller blonde girl with ridiculously long "mermaid length" hair. A trend Sasuke didn't care for.

The rose gold head of Sakura Haruno was like a beacon, calling out to him. His eyes couldn't help but be drawn to her due to the odd genetic mutation passed on from her father's side of the family. Her father had told them a weird story about how originally their ancestors had a unique chocolate with heavy violet undertones shade of hair but that the brown had dulled down through the generations and left it a sort of purple hue. It drew in everyone's eyes. Rose gold was what his mother called it when they were younger but the strands were more dusty rose and thus pink, just plain pink. Sakura had pink hair, a lovely delicate shade that couldn't be imitated by dyes.

"You can't survive on coffee, Forehead," Ino Yamanaka scolded the pink haired girl as they passed Sasuke's locker. Sakura let out a long groan and then sipped from her travel mug.

"I was studying all night and didn't go to sleep until like three. I _need_ this, okay?"

"Whatever. Let's go pick up Sai from the Art room. He can't miss any more classes because he's holeing himself up in there."

It was brief, very brief, completely unnoticeable to anyone else but their eyes met. Their eyes met and the world became muted with just a flash of vivid green eyes. As quick as their eyes met, they also averted their gaze. Sakura continued walking and Sasuke turned his attention back to his locker.

"I saw that."

Sasuke took a sideways glance at his friend and fellow transfer student Suigetsu. The had attended Konoha for an entire year and a few months already and Suigetsu still insisted on tagging along with him. Suigetsu had made friends with most of Sasuke's old friends but continued to pester Sasuke the most.

Ignoring him, Sasuke slammed his locker closed and headed off to class where Suigetsu couldn't follow him into the classroom. It didn't stop him from walking with him though.

"It's not that weird that you look at her. I look at her too sometimes. Don't let Karin know that though."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and shoved the feeling of irritation away. He tried to convince himself that he was just irritated with Suigetsu's constant chatter about his nonexistent love life and not the fact that he confessed, yet again, to finding Sakura Haruno attractive.

"I mean she's pretty hot. For a nerd."

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Sasuke grunted. Suigetsu gave him a lopsided smirk and held up his hands in surrender.

"Yeah, yeah. I gotta go or Uzumaki will bitch at me for being late for the pre-lab work." Suigetsu let out a playful sigh in mock exhaustion. "Still have no clue how a dummy like that ended up Student Body President. I'm sure even _I'm_ smarter than he is."

If Suigetsu expected Sasuke to defend his best friend he was mistaken. Sasuke just gave him an unimpressed look and walked away. Suigetsu was one of the few students at Oto Prep that was there on a sports scholarship but then ended up hating his school life. When Sasuke, Jugo, his closest friend there, and Karin Uzumaki, Naruto's cousin, transferred he jumped ship as well.

Rumpling his hair for the thousandth time that day, Sasuke made his way to his desk and pulled out his Calculus notes, not even bothering to look at any of the students around him. When he returned to the public school system he had been bombarded with unwanted attention from the female student body. Naruto, who used to find it a reason to be jealous, laughed uproariously in his face at his discomfort. Naruto then made a comment about his sexuality and then was punched in the face which resulted in an all out brawl.

Not a great start to his career at a new school but worth it since it had helped him fend off any initial admirers that found him too violent. The ones that loved "bad boys" were then disappointed to find out that he was just a quiet and studious person. Sure he had some of the elements that one could find in a "bad boy" but that wasn't who he is. Now all he had to do was avoid the fans of the dark and brooding type.

"Think you'll beat me today?" Sasuke looked up from his notes to his seat mate. Sakura tossed her pink locks over her shoulder as she slid into her seat. She flashed him a winning smile and pulled out her pencil pouch and spiral notebook for class.

Sasuke grunted and went back to his notes. Calculus was one of the classes he could out score her on tests but it wasn't a consistent occurrence. Calculus might have been Sakura Haruno's worst subject but that wasn't saying much when she was the top student in all of her classes.

"Going to give me the silent treatment?" Sakura whispered flipping through her notes on the unit they were going to be tested on as soon as the teacher closed the classroom door. "I guess in the off chance that you do beat me, you're not going to want to cash in then?"

Sasuke lifted his head again and turned in her direction. Sakura was subtly going through her notes as if they weren't speaking in the first place. She placed her left elbow on her desk, cupping her face with her hand to hold up her head as she read her notes. With her hair tossed over her left shoulder, her neck was shown to advantage. Creamy and slender, it was one of his favorite parts of her anatomy. A fact that was no secret to Sakura.

Sasuke's eyes followed the line of Sakura's neck down to her clavicle and then even further down to the V of her shirt. The swell of the top of her breasts peeked from her low neckline from the angle he was looking. The shirt was modest, not one part of it meant to be seductive, but that was the way Sakura Haruno worked: in subtlety.

Sasuke shifted his gaze back to his notes and ignored her attempts at flirting and playing coy. Cash in? As if it mattered whether he got the higher score or not. He was still going to win in the end.

* * *

There was always that awkward moment when he walked through his front door and stood in the foyer removing his shoes. It was the most vulnerable position he could be in when he got home. Taking a pause on his way to straight to his room left Sasuke opened to any questions from his mother about his day.

"How was your day?"

Surprisingly, it wasn't his mother. The voice was too low and raspy. Sasuke looked up with his mask of indifference to look at his older brother.

"How was your doctor's visit?" Sasuke countered the unwanted question.

Itachi gave him a somber smile. It stretched his gaunt face and was weak, as if it was too much of a strain to use his facial muscles. He held out out his arms to take Sasuke's school things and coat which earned him a growl of disapproval from his younger brother. It was something he use to do, help his younger brother with his things when he came home from primary school. Not only did Sasuke dislike being treated like he was still a child but he hated when his brother offered to do things he had no business doing.

"You know I hate feeling useless," Itachi said with a soft voice. Sometimes Sasuke thought Itachi's voice was doing the same thing that he was doing: physically, slowly disappearing. Sighing, Sasuke handed him his hoodie. It was the lightest thing he was carrying and Itachi only had to turn his body slightly to hang it in the front hall closet.

Sasuke stood next to his brother and his eyes softened at the sight of him in his too big clothes. Sasuke had shot passed his brother in height over the summer but he had never expected that Itachi would ever be so much thinner than him.

"How was your visit?" Sasuke asked again, tone a lot gentler than it was the first time he asked.

"The rheumatologist sent me for more blood work." Itachi sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I hate being prodded with needles."

"I bet you're tired now. Have Shisui or Izumi stopped by today?"

"Shisui has work all day and Izumi is spending the day with her mother. She hasn't been doing too well this past week."

You're _not doing too well_ , Sasuke wanted to retort but held back his tongue. Considering how much time Izumi dedicated to being Itachi's companion it would have been rude. She and Shisui were one of the few friends of Itachi's that stuck around after his illness got worse. On bad days Sasuke didn't think they counted as friends since they were technically distant cousins but close enough relations to carry the same last name.

"Is father going to let you go back to desk duty?"

The two brothers made their way to the kitchen and Sasuke let his brother prepare him a snack of sliced tomatoes. It was rare that they got time alone in the house. Mikoto would hover around Itachi whenever he was at home on one of his bad days or on days he dedicated to doctor visits. Itachi would never admit it but doctor days wore him out, exhausted him and made him weak. They were stressful and lowered his energy. He would never admit it but it was obvious to his family. Sasuke wouldn't point it out, only make small suggestions, Fugaku ignored it when possible, and Mikoto suffocated him with care and attention.

"I hope so. No one expected me to relapse but I'm doing better. I want to work again."

Itachi had once been an active duty officer in their hometown's police force. When he got sicker he was moved behind a desk to do paperwork. He had been fine with the trade in positions as long as he was still a functioning member. Most Uchihas worked for the town's police department in some fashion. Their earliest ancestor had helped settle the town with another family and became in charge of defending it and enforcing the law. The Uchihas have been working as the police force ever since.

The front door opened and Sasuke threw a sympathetic look at his brother before taking off, leaving him alone in the kitchen where whatever parental figure could find him. If anyone needed the attention it was Itachi. Sasuke was more than willing to let him have it now that he was older and the able-bodied child. The expectations placed on him were stressing him out and had he known how intense it was, he would have never craved for his father's approval and attention.

As soon as he got to his room he locked his bedroom door and blasted his music loud enough for his family members to know he was in his room and didn't want to be bothered.

* * *

Sasuke's attention was drawn away from his handheld gaming device by rhythmic tapping on his window. It was two-thirty in the morning so there could only be one explanation for the knocking on glass.

Casually, without seeming like he was in any hurry to get to his window, Sasuke saved his game and turned off his device before tossing it aside. He stood up with a small groan and stretched as he made his way to the window to unlock it. He had gotten rid of the mosquito screen a long time ago on that specific window.

This time it was her eyes that drew him in. Yet another coloring of hers that couldn't be replicated. In some lighting her irises were a pale jade, in another a sparkling emerald. In all cases they were vivid, bright, perfect.

"Can't sleep?" She asked in a soft voice. All they could do was whisper at night when everyone was asleep and the only noises Sasuke could hear from his family was the CPAP machine in the room directly next to his.

"You wouldn't be in here if I was able to, would you?"

"Hmm. Guess not."

Routine. It was all routine for them. She would sneak out of her house in the middle of the night and climb up the lattice vine wall that ran up the brick walls of his cottage styled house to the part of the roof that held his bedroom window.

And in the night as part of their routine she would distract him from his brother's illness and from his father's expectations.

"I got the email with my test score when I got home. Ninety-nine. My score was higher wasn't it?" Sakura smirked, playing with the waistband of Sasuke's flannel pajama bottoms. "Are you going to be _extra_ attentive tonight?"

"Ninety-eight," Sasuke replied before cupping her head with his hands and leaned in to give her a kiss. He nibbled at her lip and deepened the kiss when she parted her lips. Sakura sighed into the kiss, her hands on his forearms, lightly scraping her nails on his skin as her fingers curled around him.

"Slow down a bit," Sakura whined as Sasuke placed hurried kisses and nips and bites on her neck. Sasuke growled but did as he was told and gave her slow open mouthed kisses on her neck and clavicle as he slid his hands under her shirt and t-shirt bra and cupped both of her breasts in his hands. He would say they were closer on the small side but still full and perky. Sasuke brushed his thumbs over her nipples and she arched into his touch, moaning softly. Sakura's hands went to his hair, tangling into his unruly locks and tugging at it.

"Take it all off," Sasuke grunted. Sakura shook her head giving him a mischievous grin. He glared at her and she made a clicking sound with her tongue, still smiling at him playfully.

" _You_ take my clothes off. You're suppose to be more attentive to _my_ needs tonight, Uchiha."

Any other night, Sasuke would have silently demanded that she stop trying to order him around. But it had been a while and he needed her, wanted her. So he pulled her shirt over her head and rid her of her other clothing. He paused momentarily to just look at her. She was all strawberries and cream. Milky skin flushed red, pink hair, pink nipples, and full pink lips. The only sweet thing he actually liked.

Lightly, he pushed her backward onto his bed and watched as she bounced on the mattress as he pulled off his own clothes. Sakura's eyes darkened at the sight of him, bare, in all his glory and she licked her lips. If he weren't so desperate for her himself he would have smirked at that. To think this was the same girl who only two years ago had looked at him, with worry in her eyes, and said there was no way he would fit in her.

"Just like that," Sakura moaned softly, tangling her fingers in his hair. Sasuke loved the view from between her thighs. Loved watching her chest heave, the way her stomach muscles quivered, and the way her body arched when he licked her in a way she particularly liked.

Loved when he made her a quivering mess, squirming and clutching at his dark gray sheets.

"I'm more than ready now Sasuke," Sakura whimpered, breathing hard after coming down from her high. Sasuke shook his head and gently bit down on the fleshy knob that brought her so much joy when he played with it. He continued to lap at her and snuck a hand up her torso to fondle her breasts, tweaking the hardened nipples. He used the other one to tease her nether lips, stroking her, refusing to place them inside her. If he felt her clench around his fingers it would be his undoing and he couldn't let her know just how badly he wanted his cock in her.

She had left him without for a week and he was going to make her wait for what she really wanted. Besides, he was being _attentive_. Wasn't this her prize? To think winning their little competitions use to mean either buying sweets or packages of collectible cards. They were both a long way from when they were younger.

"I'm starting to think," Sakura panted, "that you like eating me out more than fucking me."

"Shut up." Sasuke spread her thighs apart with his knees, used one hand on her hip to steady her, and thrust hard into her. He used his free hand to clamp over her mouth to keep her from crying out loudly. He only removed his hand when he knew she would have an easier time controlling her mewling.

Sakura clung to him, wrapping her legs around his waist and hooking her arms under his armpits to hold onto his back. She used her hold on him to pull him closer so she could pepper his throat with kisses and licks. She sucked hard on his pulse point and Sasuke couldn't help the low moan that escaped his throat.

"Fuck, you're squeezing too tight," Sasuke groaned. He buried his face into the crook of her neck. He breathed in the smell of her apple scented shampoo intermingled with sweat, the resistance of her tightening causing him to slow down his thrusting.

"I c-can't help it, I'm─ _ah!_ ─going to come again." Sakura bit down on his shoulder and he groaned from the pain mixed with pleasure as her muscles clenched even tighter around him. A few more thrusts and he found his release as well. Tired, he pulled out of her and collapsed on top of her, resting his head on her chest.

Sakura stroked his hair, lightly scratching his scalp with her nails, and he closed his eyes and let sleep take him.

Sasuke woke up hours later, alone in bed. That was their routine. They would fall asleep after a nightly romp and he would wake up to find that she had left before morning light. He use to wake when she moved to leave but after growing accustomed to her presence at night he fell into a lax state and his body no longer alerted him that there was a stranger moving around in his room.

Sasuke pulled the pillow Sakura had used the night before and held it to his chest. It smelled of apples so he curled around it and fell back to sleep.

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes:**_ _**I don't want you guys to think that this is a High School AU because it's not. It's just the beginning of the story and they**_ **will** _**reach adulthood!**_

 _ **Fair warning, this is probably going to be a**_ **very** _**long fic.**_

 _ **So, the inspiration for this story? Partially real life, partially an idea I had in my head about a story about childhood friends that were secretly in love but didn't know it while also being in an intimate physical relationship. Thought what the heck let's make it a SasuSaku story.**_

 _ **Now the partially real life part comes from my Original Story where I based a lot of it on what I'm going through with being chronically ill. In that story it's mainly from the MC's POV and partially from the MC's sister's POV but I don't really go that deeply into what the sister feels about their older sister being so sick besides feeling sorry for her. Decided to add the somewhat sadder, darker part of someone watching someone they love go through being so ill.**_

 _ **The title comes from something my ex-boyfriend said when we use to have to sneak around behind my father's back to see each other. We would go to this playground at night and we would hang out just us all alone and he called it a kingdom for two.**_

 _ **I ended up not writing in first person which is something I was contemplating as readers of TPOAM know. I'm sort of getting use to not writing in the first person but I hope I get better at having character's emotions come across without using first person.**_

 _ **For anyone worried that there will be love triangles in this story because I am now utilizing Team Hebi/Taka characters: don't be. There will be no SasuKarin, not even one sided. I like the idea of Sakura and Karin being friends after reading Gaiden─I actually have an Auntie Karin headcanon ever since Gaiden. I wish she had been included in Naruto's family.**_

 _ **For anyone that doesn't like Karin, I hope that doesn't throw you off from my fanfic.**_

 _ **Next chapter will be in Sakura's POV. It should come out soon because I find it easier to write Real Life but at the same time, I would like to focus on finishing TPOAM.**_


	2. Fences

**Chapter Two: Fences**

Twenty feet. There was twenty feet from her house to his. The exact distance was nineteen feet and ten inches. Sakura had found that out when she was seven and the Uchihas had put up a new, much nicer looking, fence to surround their property.

She remembered running with Sasuke and Naruto back and forth from her backyard to Sasuke's while the fences were down. They chased each other around with no care in the world, no rules or structures, just feeling free.

But that was back in the period of time that Sakura called Before. That was back when all three of them were friends. That was before they all turned twelve and were separated by arbitrary things like what gender they were and what secondary school they were going to be attending.

"I'm going out," Sakura called out, grabbing her utility jacket from the coat rack in the front hall.

No one responded because no one was there to do so. Sakura rarely saw her parents on weekends unless she was working a shift at the family bakery and café. She would have loved to have been working today and earn tips but her parents thought she worked too much. Sakura was the only kid she knew whose parents scolded her for being too high of an overachiever and would have preferred if she went out and enjoyed her youth while she could.

But Sakura didn't have that luxury. She _needed_ perfect grades and she _needed_ to be part of the National Honor Society. She _needed_ to work volunteer hours and she _needed_ , desperately, to be the best of the best. They don't give scholarships out to just anyone and her parents weren't going to be able to put her through medical school with money from the café.

Sakura Haruno was one stressed out seventeen year old girl. It was a good thing she had found a form of stress release that worked well for her.

Stress release that came in the form of her childhood friend next door.

Right in the center of the row of houses lining the cul-de-sac stood the magnificent two-story plus basement and attic cottage styled house of the Uchiha. The most recently built house in the neighborhood, only nineteen years old, it was more of a manor, especially in comparison to the smaller houses surrounding it. It was the jewel of Forest Grove Court. When Sakura was younger she thought the Uchiha house came straight out of a fairytale. The neighbor boy, Sasuke, thought that was the stupidest thing he had ever heard.

Walking by the house caused the hair on Sakura's neck to rise and a shiver to run down her spine. Sometimes there would be a heat that would pool in her lower belly. She was being watched and she knew if she looked up she would fine Sasuke sitting on the roof, looking out into the street.

Stress release she called him. Stress release, she tried to convince herself, was all he was.

* * *

Leaving Forest Grove Court and walking along Forest Grove Drive, just a few houses down from where the two streets met, stood the simple two story and three bedroom home of the Uzumakis. Sakura had probably spent more time in the Uzumaki residence when she was in her younger years of primary school than her own home. Kushina Uzumaki was a friend of Mikoto Uchiha and she babysat Sasuke and Sakura after school.

"Oh, hello Sakura!" Kushina greeted her warmly, letting her into her house. "I didn't know you were coming over. Let me go get Naruto."

"Ah, no! Ms. Kushina, I'm here for Karin," Sakura reminded her. Kushina frowned but quickly placed a smile on her face.

"Right." Kushina grinned broadly, leading Sakura to her kitchen. Even if Sakura hadn't spent most of her time in the Uzumaki house most of her youth she would be able to navigate it easily. The floor plan was almost an exact copy of the Haruno home.

Sakura slid onto a barstool at the kitchen's island and waited for Kushina to call her niece down from her room. From her spot she could see the markings on the doorway where Kushina used to measure her son and his friends' heights when they were younger. Naruto was always the shortest back then. He always swore he would someday be taller than Sasuke. They both seemed to stop growing and it seemed he would always be an inch shy of reaching Sasuke's height. He also use to say he would marry Sakura one day.

 _That was never going to happen_ , Sakura chuckled inwardly. She was forever glad that Naruto had given up on that around the end of primary school. She thought of him as a little brother, nothing more.

"Stop being such a creep, you perv!"

Not that that stopped him from seeing her as something else. Sakura turned around and saw Naruto in a headlock. He kept slapping at Karin's arm attempting to get her to release him. Karin let go and Naruto collapsed on the floor.

"Why are you always a bitch to me?"

"Why do you always have to check out my friends like some skeeze?" Karin unwrapped her cardigan from around her waist and pulled it on, covering the scars and bite marks on her arms. She never exposed them outside of her home and Sakura's house.

"I-I was not!" Naruto's cheeks heated to a red almost as vivid as his mother and cousin's hair.

"Sure you weren't." Karin rolled her eyes and hooked her arm with Sakura's. "Let's go Sakura. You're not safe here."

"Bye Naruto!" Sakura giggled and waved at him. Naruto waved back and then turned back up the stairs, cursing. "You're so mean to him, Karin."

"That's our dynamic. If I start being nice to him it would be weird," Karin scoffed. "Plus he needs to learn to stop staring at you like that. Maybe if I embarrass him enough he'll quit it. Let's go pick up Yamanaka. She has been texting me nonstop this morning about making sure that you actually left the house today. I was almost tempted to tell her that you needed bedrest today."

"Karin!"

Karin was the friend that Sakura never knew she needed until she met her the year before. She was bold like Ino but unlike Ino she didn't baby her. It made it easier for Sakura to tell her secrets that she couldn't tell Ino who would have gone into mother hen mode and demand that she put a stop to her relationship with Sasuke.

"Don't act so prudish now. Let me see the marks," Karin teased her, pulling at the belt loop of Sakura's denim shorts. Sighing, Sakura shimmied her shorts and stockings down enough for Karin to take a peek at her hips. Karin let out a low whistle when she saw the finger shaped bruises. "Is it always like that?"

"No. Usually he tries not to be rough enough to leave me all marked up but we did hold back from seeing each other for a week."

"I wish this wasn't a secret. I would love to fuck with him about this."

"Hey. You don't blab about me and Sasuke and I don't say anything about Suigetsu."

Karin grumbled incoherently and slid into the driver's seat of the old Toyota Camry her uncle had purchased for her when she moved in with them. Karin didn't like hand outs so she had insisted on an old used car that she could afford to payback the cost of.

"I still don't understand what's going on with you and Suigetsu."

"Well I still don't get what's going on with you and Uchiha," Karin retorted defensively.

Sakura took a sideways glance at Karin as they backed out of the driveway. Karin's face held an impassive expression. Karin was always putting her walls up. Sakura knew it would take time for Karin to be completely open with her but she had hoped they had become close enough for her to be privy to more about Karin's life.

Karin had transferred at the beginning of junior year with a few other students from Oto. Not many knew what had exactly happened but there was a rumor that the headmaster had been involved in some sort of scandal which was why some students were either forced to transfer or did so on their own free will. Karin had never explained why she had transferred but she was one of the only former Oto students that had been friends with Sasuke Uchiha which led her to be welcomed by Sasuke's friends. Karin didn't really warm up to the others but she had become close with Sakura after an incident in the locker room involving Karin's scars.

Sakura never questioned her about them and Karin appreciated that.

Being friends with Sakura meant being friends with Ino as well and luckily for Sakura, Karin and Ino got along fine. Karin wasn't ready to open up to Ino as much as she had with Sakura but she was happy with having another female companion. Sakura and Ino were her first female friends.

"I think he wants a real relationship. Like holding hands in public and going to the movies and sharing popcorn. That kind of stuff," Karin breathed out as they turned out of the forested neighborhood and onto one of the major roads of Konoha. Ino lived in the center of town where all the shops were located in a loft style flat above her family's flower shop. The Yamankas had lived in one of the quiet neighborhoods but had moved around the time Ino was in middle school because Ino's mother preferred the more "urban" feel of the center of town.

"And what do you want?" Sakura asked. She couldn't help but feel a little jealous of Karin. It was unlikely that Sasuke would ever want to do anything like that.

Sakura was frustrated with her relationship with Sasuke but she wouldn't give it up. Sasuke wouldn't say it, but she could feel it in the way he touched her and the way that he looked at her that he felt the same as her. The problem wasn't if he loved her or not. The problem was if he _wanted_ to love her. And right now, it seemed that Sasuke wished he didn't.

"I want better for Sui," Karin answered softly. She stared blankly ahead, eyes cloudy behind her black frames. The rest of the ride remained quiet until they pulled up to the building reading Yamanaka Flowers.

"Hey!" Ino called out from a window from the apartment above the shop. "I'll be down in a sec."

"Does it feel like we're always waiting on her even though she's always rushing us?" Karin grunted. Sakura just sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

* * *

Sometimes it felt like Sasuke had some sort of magnetic pull on her. Like how a compass will always point north, there was something in Sakura that always pointed her in the direction of Sasuke.

She hadn't been looking for him but there he was, in the same bookstore as her. He couldn't see her because she was shorter than the bookshelves but she could see the top of his spiky black hair above the top shelf. Ino and Karin were at the store's coffeeshop so she took advantage of being alone and turned the corner into the next aisle and quietly approached him. She stood right next to him and reached out for a copy of the book in his hand.

Sasuke saw her small hand as she grabbed the book and took a sideways glance at her. He then subtly looked around them for anyone they knew.

"Is it any good?" Sakura asked, skimming the summary on the inside of the jacket cover. She looked up at Sasuke and saw that he was still reading his book, ignoring her. "Um…"

Sasuke sighed and placed the book back on the shelf and then walked away without a second glance back at her. With a new ache in her chest, Sakura placed the book back on it's shelf and headed back to her friends at the coffeeshop.

"Guess who I just saw?" Ino asked her biting down on the straw of her ice coffee. "Sasuke Uchiha. He just ignored me when I tried to say 'hi'. I can't believe you use to be friends with him."

"Neither can I," Sakura murmured, stealing a sip of Karin's frappe.

* * *

When Sakura got home later that evening the house was still empty. It was always empty before eleven at night. Luckily for her she had been invited to dinner at the Yamanakas because it was unlikely that she would have bothered to prepare anything to eat when she got home.

It felt like Sakura was always being taken care of by the Yamanakas. Ino was the first one to take care of her by becoming her first friend in school when she was seven and then Ino's parents followed by taking care of her after school until Sakura reached seventh grade. Sometimes, on days like today, it still felt like they were taking care of her.

Sakura wondered how different her life would have been if Ino Yamanaka never followed her into the woods at the edge of the school field that day during recess. Maybe she would be alone, all empty inside like her house. Because Ino wasn't just her first friend in school but possibly her first real friend in general. Ino was the first person to pick her instead of being forced to be with her.

Sakura pulled out her Organic Chemistry textbook and took a seat at her windowsill. It was one of her favorite design structures of her home that her window jutted out and created a bench type area that she could sit at. She refused to believe it could possibly be her favorite window in her room because it faced the Uchiha house.

Sakura had always liked reading and learning. Reading helped her escape when she was younger, helped her not feel as lonely. Learning new things made her feel closer to the world by uncovering more of it's secrets.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she pulled it out. She had lots of people in her address book but only four people actually texted her. Sakura sighed, disappointed that it wasn't her parents messaging to check on her. It was almost as if they forgot she wasn't at work today.

 _ **Are you coming over tonight?**_

Sakura looked out her window and across to the Uchiha house. She always wondered what kind of sick joke it was that it was _her_ window of all the windows that faced the Uchiha house.

Sasuke was sitting on his roof, watching her, which explained the shiver down Sakura's spine. He was sitting with one knee propped up, his elbow resting on it as his hand cradled his face. He was looking at her with his impassive expression, as if it didn't matter if she went over or not.

Sakura stood up and drew her curtains closed. Sasuke could handle being ignored tonight. She ignored the lonely ache in her chest.

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes:**_ _**I hope this chapter felt different than the last one because it's Sakura's POV.**_

 _ **I know it doesn't answer questions, maybe asks more, but it's the beginning, just an intro.**_

 _ **Someone asked what a CPAP machine was: it's a machine that helps you breathe is the easiest way to put it. Usually used at home for patients with sleep apnea it's also used for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD and other illnesses involving respiratory failure. So just think of it as something that's helping Itachi breathe at night because of a history with respiratory failure.**_

 _ **Chapter title has to do with fences between houses and fences between people.**_

 _ **Next chapter should be up by Friday...**_


	3. Never Cared For Polygons

**Chapter Three: Never Cared For Polygons**

 _The First Law of Motion states, "A body at rest will remain at rest, and a body in motion will remain in motion unless it is acted upon by an external force." This simply means that things cannot start, stop, or change direction all by themselves. It takes some force acting on them from the outside to cause such a change._

Sasuke sighed, wishing he never chose to review his physics notes. Everything seemed to remind him that he needed to fix the problem he caused between him and Sakura. From experience he knew that unless he did something nothing was going to end Sakura's silent treatment. He had turned over every argument he had in his head but none of them worked. The truth wasn't an acceptable answer but the only right choice.

When Sakura had first approached him in the bookstore he was tempted to let things play out. It had been forever since they had been involved in anything as innocent as flirting. It was easier to get away with when they went to different schools because then they seemed like old friends catching up with each other. It was also a lot easier to do when he wasn't losing sleep over his older brother slowly dying in the other bedroom but that was just crass using Itachi's illness as an excuse.

But how could he tell her that he left her standing there by herself because not only had he noticed Ino Yamanaka earlier but that also he saw Naruto enter the store looking for him out of his peripheral. Tiny and with weak eyesight due to straining her eyes reading tiny font in bad lighting, Sakura wouldn't have noticed Naruto until he was standing right next to them.

"You look like shit."

Sasuke looked up at the sound of snickering. Karin was looking down at him through her glasses as she took a seat at their lunch table. Suigetsu followed suit, pulling out a large bottle of water from his drawstring bag.

"What's up with you?" Karin asked without looking up from her lunch. She picked at her nachos until she found a chip with a proportionate amount of cheese to chip.

"You're looking even more like an overgrown bat these days," Suigetsu commented. Sasuke glared at him and Suigetsu grinned back, taking it as a win that he reacted. "Or a pissed off cat."

"Lay off Sui." Karin narrowed her eyes at Sasuke, silently observing him. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "Maybe he just needs to get laid."

"Not interested," Sasuke growled out.

"I wasn't offering," Karin hissed back. Sasuke scoffed and shoved his food tray away. Karin made another note about his lack of appetite.

"Not everyone wants to hop on your dick, ass," Suigetsu muttered. Sasuke just raised an eyebrow at the comment and looked back at his notes, not actually reading.

Sasuke was aware of Suigetsu's crush on Karin but it wasn't something he truly cared about as long as he was kept out of it. He was just glad that Karin's interest in him back when they were sophomore's in Oto only lasted a few weeks until she came to the conclusion that she was barking up the wrong tree. She had mistaken his lack of sexual interest in her to be a matter of his orientation. When they actually became friends instead of just seat mates she realized he didn't like people and being touched and dropped it. It wasn't any of her business but Sasuke was getting increasingly aware of how Karin seemed to come across as knowing something she shouldn't.

Like with the comment she just made. How much of a coincidence was it that Sakura had been freezing him out for the past few days and that her friend Karin just happens to make a crude statement that could have been a reference to that? Sometimes it irked him how close the two girls had gotten.

Sasuke was glad that Karin had made friends with Sakura. She needed someone like her but sometimes he wished he could keep Sakura separate from certain aspects of his life. His life was so heavy and she didn't deserve to be mixed in with all of that.

"I gotta go. I have Organic Chemistry next and Haruno has me stressed about this quiz we have."

"Our little nerd and her special science class," Suigetsu teased. Karin threw him a scathing look and smacked him with her tote bag as she walked past him to throw out her tray. "Hey, where are _you_ going?"

Sasuke got up to throw out his barely touched tray of food and tossed out it's contents. He looked back at Suigetsu and let out a sigh.

"Library."

* * *

Loud. Obnoxious. Boisterous. Just a few words Sasuke would use to describe his best friend. Bright. Sociable. Dependable. Friendly. A few more choice words when Sasuke was feeling more amicable.

Asshole was the word that was pulled to the front of his mind currently.

Seeing Sakura smile always gave Sasuke conflicting emotions. Her smile could be sweet or it could be bright and joyous. Sakura smiling filled his chest with warmth whenever it was directed at him. Sakura's smile made his stomach feel like it was freezing over, ice crawling up his insides when she flashed it at someone else. It was a horrid feeling and it disgusted him that he felt like that at all.

Sakura would usually use her lunch period to study in the library if she had a test or quiz in an upcoming class. Sasuke would swear she didn't need it, she seemed to have a knack for committing anything she read to memory, but she always looked through her notes trying to cram anything she could in, anything to get her closer to perfection.

Naruto didn't use the library unless he needed to for class. In reality the two of them shouldn't ever come across each other in school. Sakura took all honors courses and Naruto breezed through his standard classes with average scores and grades. But there they were, chatting and laughing at one of the tables provided.

It wasn't fair. Sasuke was smart and he had inherited his family's genetics for good looks. Sasuke was a natural talent at whatever he did. Things came easy to him.

Except that.

Sasuke couldn't brighten a room with his presence. He couldn't easily laugh and joke. Sasuke couldn't be carefree and run around and face life head on all happy-go-lucky.

"You never want to come over to hang out with me anymore, Sak. It's always Karin." Naruto pouted, giving Sakura sad blue eyes.

 _She hates that nickname._

"Ew, no. Come on, Naruto. You know I don't like being called that." Sakura wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"You never answered me. Wanna come over after school? We can watch movies or play some video games."

 _She doesn't like being alone with you. Not anymore._

"Just us?" Sakura twisted her lips, concern in her eyes.

"Not like that!" Naruto waved his hands in protest. "I mean, Karin might be home."

"Might be." Sakura gave Naruto a blank look. Naruto leaned back in his seat and frowned.

"Are we ever going to be real friends again? I feel like all we are is friendly acquaintances. Sure we have the same friend groups and we all hang out from time to time but we don't chill like before. Are we ever going to act like the best friends we're suppose to be?"

"Are you ever going to invite Sasuke to our hangouts ever again?"

 _Or are you going to try to make her believe that I want nothing to do with her again?_

Silence. Sasuke ducked behind a bookshelf to make sure he remained unseen. It was unsettling how Naruto couldn't answer without hesitation. It stung but Sasuke bypassed hurt and went straight to feeling bitter and angry.

"We can hang out when it's the three of us again, Naruto. You said you got over it." There was a sound of a book slamming and pages being rustled. "I never thought you would be like this. You're not acting like a real friend to me or to Sasuke."

"You guys are the ones acting weird not me." There was the sound of chair legs scraping against cheap, thin carpeting. "Why don't I see you guys talk to each other anymore?"

"Good-bye, Naruto."

She wasn't walking away from him but it always made Sasuke feel odd when he saw Sakura's back. Weird when he watched the way the long sheet of pink hair swayed from side to side as her tiny body marched forward.

"Fuck."

Sasuke turned his gaze away from the library doors and to the side where Naruto stood. Guilty blue eyes stared back at him, shoulders slumped in defeat.

In Naruto's mind the three of them were once part of a triangle. An odd isosceles triangle where his unrequited feelings were the same as Sakura's. They made up the equivalent sides. It was bullshit. Sasuke had only ever believed in one love triangle and that was Itachi, Shisui, and Izumi's perfect equilateral triangle. All sides perfectly matched with each other, all in love with the other.

Sasuke never cared for polygons. Sasuke knew what he, Naruto and Sakura were. They were points. He and Sakura were points, connected in a line segment, completely separated with no intersecting lines. Naruto was a point on a different quadrant, a different plane.

"Sasuke, you know I don't─"

"No. I don't know." Saying one thing but acting in a different manner kind of made it hard to believe anything anyone said. Kind of made it hard to feel like you were their friend. "Look. I have my own problem to fix. I can't fix yours too."

And not for the first time, Sasuke walked away from Naruto, no faltering in his steps. He walked with purpose, hoping his back looked just as proud and straight as Sakura's did.

Strong, like the way Sasuke wished he actually were.

* * *

Talking wasn't his strong suit. If it came down to talking, Naruto was the best at it with Sakura as a close second. It wasn't always that way but for Sakura it had always just been a matter of confidence. For Sasuke it was an apathetic, lack of care for the task.

"So how was your week?"

Seeing a therapist once a week wouldn't be part of his agenda if it were up to Sasuke. He had agreed only because it pleased his mother and stopped the constant looks with sad doe eyes. It was unnerving seeing such an expression on a face that looked so much like his own.

"Fine."

Sasuke's first choice of therapists wouldn't have been a classmate's father but Inoichi Yamanaka was one of the best in the region and had an office conveniently located in Konoha.

"Anything interesting happen this week?"

"Not really. Same as last week. Itachi had more appointments. I took another test. I studied."

"How is Itachi doing?"

Dr. Yamanaka had a strange talent in getting Sasuke to talk. Sasuke always had the cynical thought that he was doing his job, getting paid to act like he cared but there was a small part inside of Sasuke that was grateful for the act. If there was ever a way to get Sasuke to talk, it was to act like he was concerned for Itachi.

"He acts like everything's fine but I know he's faking it. He gets more tired lately. He's always exhausted. He should be sleeping better at night with the CPAP machine but just because he can breathe more easily it doesn't change the fact that his body is always aching and everything hurts. I can hear him moaning in pain in his sleep. He can't catch a break even when he's sleeping."

Sasuke paused. He stared at Dr. Yamanaka, stared at him and waited to see if he said anything before continuing.

"And his social life is fucked. I never hear about his friends anymore. Last time he's ever brought up Kisame was months ago. His girlfriend and boyfriend come over and he acts like everything's normal. I know he's feeling insecure. He thinks once he gets sick enough they'll leave him too. Decide that maybe three's a crowd and maybe they're better off as two. I can't watch him anymore."

"It must be frustrating," Dr. Yamanaka offered. Their sessions were a place for Sasuke to vent.

"More than you can imagine," Sasuke muttered bitterly.

"So how are you? How has your mood been? Are you sleeping any better?"

"I'm shit. I feel like shit. And it's always shit." Sasuke sneered and averted his gaze to the door. The arrangement of the office made it so he couldn't see the clock on the wall behind him unless he turned on the couch.

"We've discussed sleeping pills in the past. Have you changed your mind?"

"I still don't want to go near any drugs yet. It's too soon."

Although Sasuke never dabbled in any of the recreational drugs that overflowed the halls of Oto, he did have a problem with ritalin and adderall. He had no business using them but it helped him focus more in school, especially around the multiple exam periods Oto favored. He had a preference for adderall because it stayed in his system longer and he had an easier time controlling his use with it than the quick acting ritalin that he had to keep restocking to get his fix.

He started to wean off the use in his last term at Oto. Fortunately for him, Sasuke wasn't as addicted to them as a majority of his former classmates.

"Anything else you want to talk about today?"

"Not really."

"Well, you have five minutes left." Dr. Yamanaka gave Sasuke an encouraging smile. He preferred when his patients used all of their time. "We can end early if you like?"

Sasuke nodded and Dr. Yamanaka pulled out his planner to schedule their next appointment. Sasuke's sessions were on the same day, at the same time, every week.

"Try to get some rest."

Sasuke exited the room, positive that that was the last thing he was going to be able to get.

* * *

Sakura's window was easier to access than his own. He would hop on her father's tool cabinet that was against a part of the back wall and pull himself up to the low overhanging part of the roof. The Haruno home was technically two stories but the first floor was larger in dimension than the second giving it a layered look.

Sasuke tapped on the window of Sakura's room that faced his house. He knew it was her favorite because it had the seat. It was the perfect size for her petite body to curl up on the cushion and sleep like he caught her do on some nights.

With a frown on her face, Sakura padded her way over dressed only in an oversized sweatshirt with the local hockey team's name on it. She unlatched the lock for her window and stepped aside so that Sasuke could step into her room. Sakura stood with her arms crossed over her chest and a hip cocked as she shifted her weight on one leg.

"I'm an ass."

"Well that's not news." Sakura stared at him for a beat before sighing and plopping herself onto her bed. Sasuke took it as permission to stay and sat on the floor next to her legs.

"I don't like it when you give me the silent treatment."

"And I don't like it when you ignore me." Sakura nudged his side with her foot. "Talking to me in public won't give us away. There's such a thing as coincidences."

"I was in the library when you were talking to Naruto," Sasuke confessed. "You know you can hang out with him, right? He's moved on. Well he _seems_ to have moved on. He's been talking to this home schooled girl from the other side of town."

"It's a _trust_ thing, Sasuke." Sakura shuffled on her bed so that she could dangle her legs over Sasuke's shoulders. She sank her fingers into his unruly hair and massaged his scalp, lightly scraping with her short fingernails. "I want to be able to trust him again. What he did _really_ hurt."

Sasuke leaned into Sakura's touch. Her massage on his scalp was making his brain feel fuzzy and the tingling feeling was moving south down his neck. It was a relaxing feeling and he felt himself getting sleepy.

"I wish I could forgive him as easily as you did."

The truth was that he hadn't. Sasuke never really forgave Naruto, just pretended to be ignorant of his scheming. Pretended he didn't care when Naruto used to brag about how close he and Sakura were getting while he was away at Oto. Pretended he didn't care about the comments about their friends wanting the two of them to get together and creating situations where they had no choice but to be paired up. Pretended he didn't notice the way Sakura was never around when the two of them hung out. Pretended not to notice how he stopped getting invited to go out to the movies or the mall with their friends.

Pretended not to notice when Naruto stopped talking about how close he and Sakura were getting and how Sakura no longer liked walking by Naruto's house. Pretended that he hadn't held her as she cried the day Naruto had confessed to her and tried to kiss her.

Sakura wouldn't tell him the full story but considering how Naruto avoided Sasuke for weeks after the event it must have been brutal and his name must have popped up.

"You should probably head back soon before someone realizes you're missing."

Sasuke leaned into Sakura's leg, resting his head against it. He rubbed his cheek into her skin and then frowned remembering Suigetsu's cat comment from earlier that day.

"No one bothers to check up on me. Can I stay here tonight?"

"I'm not going to fuck you. I'm still mad at you."

"I'm completely fine with that." Sasuke stood up and helped Sakura pull back the covers on her bed and remove all of her superfluous pillows and stuffed animals. "I can still hold you though right?"

"I would be more pissed if you didn't."

Sasuke curled his body around Sakura's small frame, entangling their legs. There was a reason she mainly came over to his room at night. He had a queen sized bed while she slept in a twin and he took up most of it.

There was a comfort in being in Sakura's quiet, empty home that made him feel guilty for not listening to the whirring through his bedroom wall.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _**and chapter three.**_

 _ **I wrote the therapy session based on my own. I use some of the things my sister has said about my experience with being chronically ill for a lot of Sasuke's parts so sometimes things will sound really specific. One of the scariest things for my sister is that I moan out in pain in my sleep. She doesn't know whether to wake me up or let me keep sleeping since I have difficulty falling asleep due to pain and side effects from medication. So she'll just lay there in the bed next to mine listening until she falls back asleep.**_

 _ **Possible spoilers in the paragraph below? Just vague hints?**_

For readers of TPOAM you know I don't like love triangles. I don't count the shenanigans going on with the three friends as one and y'all will hopefully understand that for me when two parts are mutual than it's not a triangle and the other person is just an interloper. Plus most love triangle situations are in the past or just imagined by the characters. I do like the three of them being bffls so hopefully stuff gets cleared up with them soon….or not. Let's see.

 _ **I don't want to come off as bitchy but here we go with this next note: yes I did put in an ItaShiIzu poly relationship. If you don't like it I would rather not read griping over a small detail. You could stop reading if you feel strongly against poly relationships.**_

 _ **Question: I planned originally to only have Sasuke and Sakura POVs. Would rare Naruto, Karin, or Itachi POVs throw everyone off?**_


	4. TPCS & TBD (title is too long)

**Chapter Four: The Police Chief's Son & The Baker's Daughter**

Soft sighs and a muscular arm around her waist was what Sakura woke up to for the past two weeks. Sasuke had been getting into the habit of crawling into her bed in order to sleep at night. Unlike her, he didn't wake up after a few hours and go back to his own bedroom. He had never been a morning person and Sakura was an early riser.

"Pervert," Sakura muttered. Sasuke's hand had snuck under her shirt while they slept and cupped a breast. She disentangled herself and Sasuke grumbled in his sleep. He rolled over to his other side and curled up under her comforter.

Sakura grabbed her yoga mat and began her three sun salutations. Just because Sasuke had become a regular presence in her room it didn't mean her routine was going to be thrown off. While Sasuke continued dozing she did her morning yoga, made sure her school bag was ready for the day, showered, and got dressed. Sasuke would usually wake up and go while she was in the shower but sometimes she would have to wake him up.

"That's too short." Sasuke's voice was always husky and a little raspy in the morning. Although he was grumpier, Sakura always thought he was his cutest right after waking. "And I can see skin. From your stomach. Torso. Whatever."

"Ha. Funny. Sounded like you were trying to tell me what I can or can't wear." Sakura dusted off her black pleated high waisted skirt and pulled at the hem of her red long sleeved crop top. She wore black thigh highs and a black beanie over her pink head. "My dad doesn't tell me what I can and can't wear. What makes you think you can?"

Sasuke gave her a blank look. Her punk, baker father wouldn't mind whatever she wore as long as her "bits"─as her mother called them─were covered. His father on the other hand would make the same face he made when he found out Sasuke got a stick and poke tribal looking tattoo on the back of his shoulder near the base of his neck. It was done so well it could have been mistaken for a professional artist's job. The tattoo had given Sakura the shock of her life and she had lectured him about how stupid it was to trust some random amateur with something permanent.

He had quickly come back at her, reminding her that she had trusted Ino to pierce her ears with a kit that she ordered online instead of asking her parents to go with her to a professional piercer.

"You gotta go home and get ready for school." Sakura pushed him toward the window and he glared at her for trying to manhandle him.

Sakura watched as he made his way down from her roof and climbed over the wrought iron fence between her house and his. Everytime he climbed over made her grateful that Mikoto got the custom fencing with the rounded arch and scroll patterning she wanted instead of the spikes that Fugaku had originally planned on having installed. She wished he could use the side gate that joined their two yards, but it had been padlocked two years ago.

Sakura waited until Sasuke was entering his bedroom window before she headed down the stairs to grab something to eat on her way to Karin's to catch a ride to school. She was trying to picture what the cake stand with the glass dome they used to store scones had looked like the day before when she ran into her father at the base of the stairs.

"Papa?"

"'Morning my blossom," he cheerfully greeted. Kizashi Haruno was pulling on a leather jacket over a uniform shirt from his café, Budding Cherry Blossom. Not so cleverly named after his wife, Mebuki, and Sakura, he had owned his own shop since Sakura was three after years of saving up to open his own place.

Sakura let her father hug her, lifting her up into a spin. It was rare for her to see him in the morning since he was usually up getting an early start in baking the bread they sold and used in his shop. He had hired someone to help out with the baking but he preferred to do all of the heavy work.

"Did the boy leave before his father was up for work?"

Sakura's eyes went wide, shocked that her father was aware that Sasuke had been coming and going. Her father gave her a gentle smile and handed her a brown paper bag. He had taken the opportunity to make her lunch since he was going into work later than usual.

"Um…"

"Just be careful. I don't want you to get hurt when he gets caught."

Kizashi awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, his puce colored spikes shifting up and down in the process. For a time when she was twelve, her father's cherry blossom shaped hairstyle had embarrassed her. Sakura had learned to appreciate the things that made him unique as she got older.

"Oh. And make sure to use protection. I'm not a big fan of only relying on the pill," Kizashi said as he walked out the front door. Sakura flushed red, choking on a reply she didn't really have for that. It was awkward enough that he knew that Sasuke was sleeping over, him being aware that she was sexually active was worse. Just because he was open minded didn't mean it made it any less embarrassing.

"At least it wasn't Mama…" Sakura sighed gratefully as she slipped on her combat boots. Her mother, as kind and loving as she was, was also the strict, no nonsense parent of the two. She would have handled her and Sasuke's sleepovers a lot differently.

As Sakura was leaving her house, Sasuke was leaving his. She watched him walk over to his black Jeep Wrangler and observed his attire. Crisp dark blue jeans, a gray v-neck shirt, an open navy cardigan with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, and black and white converses. Simple and neat and obviously something his father would deem appropriate for a seventeen year old boy to wear to school.

Sakura averted her eyes and walked down the street. Her father had given her some good advice about being careful. It wouldn't do if Fugaku Uchiha caught the Haruno girl staring at his son.

* * *

School was one of the only places Sakura could look at Sasuke as much as she wanted. She hated how popular he was amongst the girls but it made it easier to look at him when it seemed to be the favorite activity of the girls of Konoha Secondary.

It was also one of the only places they weren't under the watchful eye of Fugaku Uchiha.

"Quit staring," Sasuke muttered. He handed back the copy of her essay he had marked up during their class's peer editing session. "It was almost perfect. As usual. You don't have to stare me down."

"That's not why I was staring," Sakura mumbled. She passed back his paper and he scowled at all of her comments. He held it up to her and silently demanded an explanation. "What?"

"I just asked you to check grammar and syntax. Stop trying to write my paper for me, Haruno."

"Just some suggestions, Uchiha." Sakura tossed her hair over her shoulder haughtily.

Their whispered arguing in class was such a common occurrence that no one bothered to look away from their partner's papers at them. Not even the teacher bothered to break them up as they continued to bicker about how Sakura was taking over Sasuke's essay topic. The conversation should have ended when Sakura agreed to let Sasuke pull his own quotes from the novel─Brave New World─ that their class was reading. It should have if not for Sasuke snatching Sakura's paper back and adding in more notes like she had.

"Hey!"

"Just some suggestions Sa-ku-ra," Sasuke dragged her name out in a mocking fashion. Sakura tried to grab her paper back but Sasuke lifted her essay over his head out of her reach.

"Wow. It's like you guys don't even care that you're flirting in the middle of class," Karin drawled out, sounding bored. Sakura had forgotten that she sat in the seat behind them.

The two of them visibly stiffened. Sasuke shoved Sakura's paper back onto her desk and turned so he was staring out the window.

"We're not flirting, Karin," Sakura muttered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear clumsily. She pulled out her copy of Brave New World and flipped to the pages Sasuke had pointed out in his notes for, folding down the corners of the pages she agreed could be useful.

Sakura avoided looking at Sasuke for the rest of class. She also ignored the vibrating sound coming from her backpack, fully aware that Karin was sending her texts making fun of her. She was grateful when the bell rang ten minutes later.

Sakura had just parted ways with Karin as they headed off to their different classes when someone yanked her by the elbow under the stairwell. She was just about to yell at the snatcher when she was overcome by a cinnamon and menthol smell and was pressed into the the corner by an unbelievably warm body. Sakura closed her eyes and sighed contently when Sasuke kissed her, quickly, but too deeply to be chaste.

Completely forgetting about making her way to class, Sakura pulled him by his cardigan back down toward her and pulled at his lower lip with her teeth. Sasuke responded by pressing her even further against the wall, sliding his hands up her sides.

"I wasn't flirting with you," Sakura grumbled with a pout. Sasuke snorted and cupped the side of her neck pushing her jaw up with his thumb so he could kiss her again. Sakura made a noise of protest in the back of her throat as Sasuke deepened the kiss by sliding his tongue into her mouth. She pushed against his chest and he leaned back with a frown on his face. "You're going to make me late for my history class."

"Can't help it. You're distracting," Sasuke said as an excuse. Sakura's eyes widened, horrified by his statement.

"No I am not!" Sakura shook her head adamantly. "Take it back."

"I didn't mean it like that, Sakura."

"I have to go. Don't be late for class."

Sakura pushed past Sasuke who tried to grab at her arm to pull her back to him. Sakura backed away from his reach toward the exit doors toward the trailers and shooed him away, waving her hand at him to leave. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her for a moment but then rolled them, shaking his head as he left the stairwell.

"I am not a distraction," Sakura mumbled to herself over and over again as she headed to her class.

* * *

Unfortunately for Sakura, Karin had "errands" to run after school leaving her to take the school bus. She loathed not having her own car and having to ride with the underclassmen back home. It was worse that she had to walk past both the Uzumaki-Namikaze residence and then the Uchiha on her way home.

It was made even worse when Mikoto Uchiha stepped out of the Uzumaki house and caught sight of her on the sidewalk. Sakura felt guilty for trying to avoid her when she saw how Mikoto's face had brightened when she saw her.

"It's been so long!" Mikoto hooked her arm with Sakura's and patted her hand when she reached her at the end of the drive. "How have you been? You look prettier and prettier every time I see you!"

"I've been good. Really busy with school."

"You and Sasuke both, I swear." Mikoto chuckled. "Always studying you two. Kushina was just telling me how she wished Naruto cared about his studies half as much as you two do. Even her niece Karin, who is so studious, doesn't hit the books the way you do. I miss when you guys use to come over and just hang out in our media room."

 _Me too._ Sakura tried to smile but it felt strained, too forced. Sakura hadn't entered the Uchiha home through the front door in over a year and a half and even then it wasn't to socialize but to study with Sasuke.

"You and Naruto should come over this weekend. I'm sure Sasuke would like that."

"I'm not sure…" Sakura chewed on her lip. She didn't want to decline Mikoto's invitation. It was a good way to try to get the three of them in one room again but at the same time Sakura didn't want to risk a run in with Fugaku.

Fugaku wasn't a fan of her father. Fugaku was straight laced and no matter how friendly her father was there was always something that kept Kizashi and Fugaku from getting along. Fugaku just couldn't get past Kizashi's loud and bright spiked hair, even if the color was natural the hair style was most definitely not. Kizashi was a jokester and and didn't really know boundaries which clashed with how serious and reserved Fugaku was. They were cordial with each other because they were neighbors but when Sakura was sixteen their relationship turned sour.

Kizashi didn't take too kindly to what he believed was Fugaku implying that his son was too good for Sakura. It had started with him trying to cut back on how often Sakura came over to do homework with Sasuke and then ended when Fugaku had pretty much told Kizashi that he was uncomfortable with how much time the two spent together. Kizashi jokingly asked if he was worried that Sasuke would be too distracted from his studies if a pretty girl was around. Fugaku's silence after the question was answer enough. Fugaku told him that Sakura was the wrong kind of friend for Sasuke and that Sasuke shouldn't be thinking about girls and dating until much later. He then said that it was likely that Sasuke would find someone that would ideally match his lifestyle when he went off to college.

That was the end of Sakura being allowed to go to the Uchiha house. Kizashi didn't want Sakura to hear Fugaku say anything that would hurt her feelings. Sakura was stubborn and tried to keep her friendship with Sasuke going but she was caught giving Sasuke a chaste kiss good-bye on the cheek and Fugaku had put a stop to allowing the two to be alone together. Even going so far as having Sasuke monitored by relatives that worked in the police force. Sasuke's cousin Shisui had volunteered to keep an eye on things but was found to be too lenient.

"Don't be like that. Look! There's Sasuke now."

 _Oh, Lord help me now._

Sakura mentally ran through a list of excuses she could make but next thing she knew she was being dragged up the Uchihas' stone path to their front door. Sasuke who had just parked his Jeep raised an eyebrow at her while his mother babbled on about how he needed to socialize more.

"Sakura and I have a paper for English. We could work on that."

Sakura's eyes went wide and she mentally cursed him. He smirked at her obvious discomfort and if it weren't for his mother standing right there she would have punched him for finding the situation she was put in amusing.

"I thought you didn't want my help with your essay." Sakura crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at Sasuke as he dumped her backpack with his messenger bag against the legs of his computer desk.

"We're not working on our essays." Sasuke looked down at her, crossing his arms in front of his chest to match her stance. Sakura wrinkled her brow in confusion. She didn't understand what she was doing there if he wasn't going to work on anything. Unless...

"No! Your mother is downstairs, Sasuke Uchiha." Sakura flushed pink and Sasuke snorted, rolling his eyes.

"Get your mind out of the gutter." Sasuke pushed her back out of his bedroom and headed to the room next door. "We're going to hang out with Itachi."

"Itachi?"

As far as adults went, Sakura quite liked Itachi Uchiha. She use to be jealous of Sasuke when they were younger because he had a big brother. She wasn't too lonely because she had Naruto and Sasuke but it would have been nice to have an older sibling. Naruto was more like a younger brother and Sasuke...Sasuke was never anything like a familial relation, not even when they were toddlers.

Sasuke use to complain a lot that his brother never made time for him which turned Sakura off from the idea of older siblings but she knew how much they loved each other. Sasuke loved Itachi so much and she knew how it pained him to watch Itachi waste away. She knew very well how it pained him and knew that sometimes when he lay with her it was to make that pain go away.

It was how her sleepovers had started. She couldn't leave Sasuke alone in his big house when his parents were in the hospital with Itachi. And then she couldn't leave him alone as he lay in his bed, afraid of the presence in the room next door, afraid of the sounds of Itachi coughing and moaning, and the paranoia that one day he would hear nothing at all. Feel nothing but emptiness instead of his brother's presence.

"Hello Little One," Itachi greeted with a gentle smile from his cushioned rocking chair. He took off his reading glasses and set them and his book down on the night stand closest to him. He looked thinner than she remembered but he seemed to be in good spirits.

Sakura liked Itachi's nickname for her. It was far better than Shisui's nickname "Itty Bitty." It had made her feel self conscious at fourteen thinking that he was referring to her chest size instead of her stature even though he had been calling her that since she was four.

"Hi Itachi." Sakura smiled back. Itachi gestured to his bed and she took a seat on the edge. Sasuke made himself comfortable on the floor, leaning against the bed, far enough from Sakura's leg that he was close without touching her.

"I haven't seen you in a while. How have you been?"

"I've been fine. And you?"

"Good. But enough about me. Tell me, how's school?"

Sakura spent the afternoon talking to Itachi. They discussed her essay topic on Brave New World and Itachi pulled out a copy he had on his bookshelf and gave it to her to borrow so she could go over his annotations. Sasuke had scowled at that, calling his brother a traitor for withholding his notes and giving them to someone else.

Sakura got really excited when she told him about her volunteer work at the hospital. Itachi had teased her asking if she wore a candy striper uniform and she blushed and told him that no she wore the maroon volunteer scrubs and that he knew very well that that is what they made the volunteers wear. She told him about the different patients she had come across and he listened with a pleasant smile on his face.

They sat in Itachi's room talking until Sasuke looked at his watch and said it was getting late. Itachi nodded and he walked Sakura out with Sasuke. When Sasuke opened the door and checked to see if his father was driving up the cul-de-sac Itachi leaned down and whispered in Sakura's ear.

"Thank you."

Sakura looked up at him, head tilted to side, puzzled. She didn't understand what Itachi was grateful for. He gave her another soft smile and nodded his chin at Sasuke.

"He's in a better mood today."

"Oh. I can't take credit for that." Sakura could feel warmth creep up her cheeks. Itachi shook his head, smiling gently. He waved goodbye and headed back up the stairs.

Sakura stepped out of the Uchiha house, unsure on how to say goodbye to Sasuke. They didn't usually interact in their neighborhood outside of each other's bedrooms.

"See you later." Sasuke helped her from making any decision on the matter by casually tossing his statement out in the air, not even looking at her just stretching his arms out in front yard and scratching the back of his head. "My room tonight."

Sakura rolled her eyes and shook her head. She almost pretended to be busy to tease him when he beat her to the punch.

"Now your mind can be in the gutter."

"Sasuke!"

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _**I almost made a consecutive Sasuke chapter for Chapter Four.**_

 _ **I know that in some Real Life Aus that I've read before people avoid describing Kizashi's appearance or change it but I wanted to keep his cherry blossom hair so I made him Sakura's jovial punk rock dad.**_

 _ **I kind of made Fugaku the bad guy here, didn't I? Well, it is Sakura's POV...**_

 _ **A lot of you prefer keeping it only Sasuke and Sakura's POV so I'm gonna do that but I'm not guaranteeing that because I do want at least one Itachi chapter (I say one but I'll probably end up with a few more)**_

 _ **If anyone is wondering about what classes the characters have together so far: Sakura+Sasuke have English and Calculus; Sakura+Karin have English, Organic Chemistry, and Home Room (which hasn't been stated yet but I've listed her); hasn't been covered yet but Sasuke has Home Room and Weight Training (it's an elective course that was offered at my high school!) with Naruto but Naruto doesn't have any core classes with Sasuke and has no classes with Sakura.**_

 _ **Confession Time: I messed up. I wanted to cover the Naruto issue but I'm going to get more into that next chapter and the one after that.**_

 _ **Confession Time Part 2: I kind of, partially, wanted to start them off in high school because I was so tired of cheerleader-Sakura, jock-Sasuke, party girl Sakura, badboy-Sasuke stories. Oh and there are so many High School stories (that don't use the whole Sakura wants to be a doctor thing but I've only seen College AUs use it for their plot really) that make Sakura pretty dumb─I've come across way too many of these─which I dislike because she is really smart in the manga. Also, I like nerdy-smart, approval seeking Sasuke.**_

 _ **So I just said "let them be nerds!" (also as far sports go I'm partial to Sakura either being a volleyball player as a Libero─which plays off being a medic-nin and hanging back instead of being directly in combat in a way because it's the rearmost, defensive player that moves around the back court a lot and sort of has to be the best at analyzing the game flow; plus for that position you don't have to be particularly tall─or a hockey player; I like Sasuke as a basketball player if not kendo just because I was a basketball player in high school before my health took a dive...but I read a lot of him being a quarterback...which is funny because I would make him a running back because he's fast and really agile? If anyone is curious, I would either make him a point guard or small forward in basketball; point guard because he would have to have situational awareness, speed, and quickness─which makes sense for him?─and small forward because it is the most diversified position with different types of players in that position but also known for being the most versatile and best at scoring opportunities since it is the most aggressive offensive position─I am quite partial to this position as it was mine)...**_ ** _I talked about this more than I planned on...I kind of like talking to you guys in the notes a lot lol_**


	5. Hawk And Blossom (And Fox!)

**Chapter Five: Hawk and Blossom (and Fox!)**

Guilty. Sasuke couldn't help but feel guilty whenever he thought of Itachi and everything that was being taken away from him. And sadly, Sakura tugging on his hair and bouncing in his lap wasn't helping the situation.

Certain things Sasuke shouldn't be privy to and one of those things was his older brother's sex life. He was going to have to subtly bring up erasing one's search history before returning a borrowed laptop to Itachi. Never in his life did Sasuke think he would ever have to read the phrase Suggested Sex Positions While Chronically Ill.

It wasn't that Sasuke thought his brother had suddenly turned into a monk when he got sick. He just didn't realize that was a concern that Itachi had. He should have figured it would be one considering Itachi suffered from chronic pain and fatigue.

Thinking about it, Itachi could always use the position Sasuke was currently in with Sakura when he was with Izumi. If she were on top it would minimize how much energy he had to use. But then came the problem of sex with Shisui. And when all three of them were together.

Which was why he was feeling guilty for enjoying himself when his brother was struggling. And that wasn't a feeling he wanted clouding his mind and weighing heavy in his stomach when he was looking at Sakura's pretty little tits.

"Are you okay?" Sakura's brow wrinkled in concern as she pulled away enough to look Sasuke fully in the face, but not enough that she accidently pressed on the horn of his Jeep. "You seem distracted. We don't have to do this. We can stop. Let's just head to school."

Sakura brought her forehead down to his and used her thumbs to rub circles on his cheekbones. Her hair fell over his face, hiding the two of them in a curtain of pink. He inhaled her apple scent and tried to calm down. He felt guilty but it would bother him even more until the next time he and Sakura were together if he didn't make her come.

That had always been a concern for him since the start of their odd relationship. Sasuke was shit when it came to talking, especially about anything he felt. It helped when it came to trying to keep Sakura at bay when he was feeling conflicted about how significant she had become in his life. It didn't help when he wanted to match the overwhelming amount of adoration in Sakura's eyes when she looked at him. Bringing her body to complete and total bliss was the closest he could get so far.

Sasuke used his hands on her hips to lift her up and back down on his length and urged her to continue. Sakura frowned but hesitantly started moving and picking up a pace he liked a lot. He pressed his thumb against her clit and rubbed in circles until her panting turned into soft cries of joy.

Sasuke focused on Sakura's little sounds until he forgot he even had a brother.

* * *

Getting angry was fairly easy for Sasuke to do nowadays. Managing not to act out was a struggle.

Transferring to Konoha, he should have expected hearing about Sakura a lot. She was a top student, varsity volleyball captain, and too pretty for her own good. It would have been weirder for her _not_ to be popular. Acknowledging that didn't make it easier to listen to disgusting locker room talk.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sasuke back stepped when someone touched his ears. Naruto shook his head and raised a pair of earbuds he had been trying to insert into Sasuke's ears. Sasuke stared at the headphones in his friend's hands for a moment before taking them. Naruto turned up the volume on his phone and all Sasuke could hear was his friend's shitty taste in rap music.

Naruto sat with Sasuke until the locker room had emptied. Sasuke had stopped in the middle of putting his street sneakers on and Naruto had only removed the shirt to his gym uniform. As soon as the room cleared, Naruto took his headphones back.

"I'm glad Hina's homeschooled. It's bad enough hearing about your best friend I don't think I could handle it if it were a girlfriend."

"What?" Sasuke frowned at Naruto. Naruto shot him an unimpressed look and then rolled his eyes.

"You're so fucking obvious." Naruto pulled on his sweatshirt. Sasuke watched as he covered up his stomach tattoo. A stick and poke job just like Sasuke's. They had gone to get them done together only Naruto decided on a much larger piece. It took longer and hurt more because of it's location. Because Sasuke was his best friend he let him hold onto his hand throughout the whole thing. If asked he would never admit to it though.

"Obvious about what?"

"I may not be a super nerd like the two of you but I'm not an idiot," Naruto grumbled as he finished changing. "Yeah, maybe you look like you might only be interested to other people but I've known you since we were in the crib."

"I don't know what you're talking about.'

"Bullshit." Naruto was growling now. If Sasuke was bad at controlling his anger, Naruto was worse. "I know you two are together. I know she's your girl. Been your girl for a while."

"Oh, really?" Sasuke sneered. "How long have you known then? Before or after you made a move on _my_ girl?"

Naruto's shoulders drooped and his glare melted into a defeated look. It was the face Naruto made that Sakura had told him made her feel like she had kicked a puppy. But Sasuke wasn't Sakura and he didn't bow down to sad faces. With the exceptions of his mother, Itachi, and Sakura. Naruto noticed how ineffective it was and sighed.

"After. I swear."

Sasuke stared him down. He was starting to understand Sakura's struggles with trust. With Naruto's history of usually being the most honest person he knew, besides Sakura who sucked at lying so she didn't attempt, it should have been easy to believe him. But there was also the brief period when they were fifteen that Naruto had tried to manipulate the two of them into thinking that the other didn't care to be around the other by hanging out with them separately and claiming that the other person was busy. There was always a heavy implication that the other was too busy to hang out when it should have been the three of them but not when it was just them and Naruto.

It hadn't really worked because at that point Sasuke and Sakura had already started to be involved. The only thing helping Naruto from having Sasuke throw that back in his face and walking away from him was the fact that no one knew what would have happened if Naruto had been made aware of what was going on with his best friends.

And guilt. There was always a bit of guilt that Sasuke felt when he remembered that Naruto had a crush on Sakura for most of their lives. Sasuke wasn't vocal about his feelings like Naruto but it didn't change the fact that he had also liked her just as long as Naruto had, maybe even longer. It wasn't Sasuke's fault that his feelings were mutual while Naruto's weren't.

"How?"

"What?"

Sasuke sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"How did you find out, idiot?"

"Oh. You just told me."

"What?" Sasuke hissed. Naruto gave him a sheepish look and shrugged his shoulders.

"I had my suspicions. I already knew how Sakura felt. And like I said, you're more obvious than you think. What didn't make sense is how you two stopped talking and yet you're always busy whenever I want to come over. And it's not like you enjoy spending time with other people. You can lie all you want but Sakura and I are your favorite people, always have been. Hell, Karin said you were the most antisocial person she met at Oto so I know you're not busting your ass to spend all of that time with those three losers. Well, two. Jūgo's nice."

"And you didn't stop to consider that I might be spending my time with Itachi?"

Naruto snorted and nodded toward the door. Sasuke followed him out into the hall. They had wasted so much time talking that they were already late to their next period.

"Yes. I did but then I remembered that Itachi wouldn't want you to do something like that."

"If you're smart enough to figure that out, then why are you barely passing most of your classes?"

"You know I hate reading. Plus I have a major concentration problem."

"You need to stop doing that shit by the way. Manipulating things and talking in circles to get what you want. You can't mess with people like that." Sasuke rapped his knuckles against the back of Naruto's head. "It's why Sakura got mad at you in the first place."

"I know." Naruto's shoulders drooped. He hung his head as they walked. Neither one of them bothered to even attempt to head toward the classes they were already late for. Sasuke was about to try and say something to stop Naruto's gloom when the blond's head shot back up. "What about some Flames tickets? Do you think she'll forgive me if we all go to a game?"

"Good idea. But how are you going to get them? I can't help. My family's got money, that doesn't mean that I do." Sasuke thought it was a good idea considering Sakura's love for hockey. They all use to watch games together and would try to convince whatever parent was watching them to let them stay up late until they finished.

Naruto gave him a sly grin and chuckled darkly for humor.

"I already have tickets. My dad got them for us. I just didn't think we would actually use them."

"Good going, Minato," Sasuke muttered. Naruto's dad was always doing nice things for him. Sasuke couldn't help but feel slightly jealous of the easy relationship Naruto had with Minato when he compared it to his own with his own father.

"How much longer are you guys going to pretend like nothing's going on?"

 _Until we're both in college and my dad isn't breathing down our necks._

"I don't know."

"You should do something soon. You know how Ino is. She thinks Sakura needs a boyfriend. She tried to convince her to go on a double date with one of Sai's weirdo art friends from that studio he goes to. I love the guy but I wouldn't let anyone I know near his friends. One guy kind of looks like Ino and that freaked me out."

"Yamanaka needs to mind her own business."

"Hey!"

Naruto and Sasuke both jumped at the sound of a gruff voice. They turned and saw one of the school's security patrols coming down the hall.

"Where are your hall passes?"

Naruto and Sasuke took off down another hall, ignoring the shouts from the patrol.

"Why did you follow me, moron? He can't chase us both if we run in different directions."

"I panicked! You know I just follow you when I panic!" Naruto hissed out. "I can't get detention again. My mom will kill me!"

Sasuke didn't even want to think about what his father would say. When he and Naruto got suspended for their fight the year before Fugaku had taken away his electronics and his Jeep until Mikoto told him he was being ridiculous and demanded that he return everything.

The two of them turned down the Fine Arts hall and looked for a stairwell to hide under.

"You two are idiots." Sai had opened the door to the studio the Advance Studio Arts students used and beckoned for them to come in. "I could hear Naruto coming down the hall."

"Can we just hang out here?" Sasuke looked around the room. None of the students had even bothered to look up from their projects.

"It's the advanced class. The teacher stays in her office unless it's a presentation day for someone or to collect our research sketchbooks for grading."

"Thanks, Sai. You're a lifesaver."

"It's good you're here. I finished my Naruto piece for my showcase."

Sai led the two of them to an easel in the far corner of the room by the windows. On the canvas was an image of a brilliant orange fox swimming in a bowl of ramen.

"Wow. That is definitely Naruto."

"Can I have this?" Naruto beamed at the portrait. "After your showcase of course."

"Yes. I'm running out of room for things in my apartment anyway. Shin doesn't like storing them away but we're going to have to."

"Is this Sakura?" Naruto pointed at a canvas that was propped against the wall on the floor.

"Yes. Cherry blossoms of course. But I wanted the pink to be more like her hair so I'm going to have to fix that."

"What's that?" Sasuke pointed to one of the top most branches on the cherry blossom tree in the portrait. It looked like a bird.

"A hawk."

"Why?"

"Because this isn't just a portrait of Sakura. It has a twin. I usually name each piece after the person that inspired it. But I'll probably leave the two as Taka and Hana," Sai answered giving him a knowing look.

 _Fuck_. Naruto was right. He was fucking obvious.

* * *

"You should have seen the look on her face after the volleyball hit her face," Suigetsu snickered. Karin smacked the back of his head with her textbook for Computer Science.

"She could have gotten hurt Sui. She has glasses," Jūgo said softly. He usually tried to keep the peace between the two of them before they took their spats far enough to irritate Sasuke.

"I hate this school. Why does two years of Physical Education have to be a requirement? I'm the only senior in my class."

"You could have done weight training with the rest of us," Suigetsu shrugged. Karin scowled at him. He knew she wasn't a fan of gym equipment either. She wasn't good at sports even though she loved running. If it were up to her she would just run circles on the track and listen to her iPod for gym class.

"Or stayed in Oto." Sasuke watched as Karin's face twisted into one of disgust. She shot him a glare, clearly unhappy that he brought their old school up.

"I don't hate gym class that much," she muttered. She stopped walking with them and looked somewhere behind them, craning her neck.

"Who are you looking for?" Sui crossed his arms in front of his chest and loomed over her small frame. Everything about it screamed possesive to Sasuke. Sasuke sometimes wondered who was smaller, Karin or Sakura.

"Sakura. I'm too short though. Can you see her anywhere? I wanted to wish her luck before I left. I'm not going to get a chance to see her before I come back to watch the game. She doesn't think they'll win their match today and that means it will be the end of their season."

"Haruno in tiny spanks? Count me in!" Suigetsu chortled. Karin scowled and pulled on his ear. She yanked hard and then let go.

"Don't objectify my friend! She's too good for you or anyone else here."

Sasuke frowned at the way she seemed to look at him when she said that. He was going to have to talk to Sakura later about how cryptic Karin was being lately.

"Lady crush much?" Suigetsu waggled his eyebrows and then ducked another incoming hit from Karin.

"Don't be a perv! Sakura's just really nice."

Sasuke watched as a somber expression took over Karin's face and the way she pulled at the sleeves of her sweater. Besides their height, there were plenty of similarities between Karin and Sakura. They both had odd colored hair and unique eyes. They both wanted to do something with medicine, Sakura wanted to be a doctor and Karin wanted to go into medicinal chemistry and be a pharmaceutical scientist. They both had suffered abuse at the hands of bullies, Sakura when she was younger and Karin in the dorms of Oto Prep.

Although Karin was loud and brash, she was small and weak. She didn't stand a chance when she was ganged up on. She was stuck in the dormitories until Suigetsu offered his couch up to her and Sasuke made the connection between her and Naruto's mother, a long lost relation, a daughter of a distant cousin of Kushina's. She was a ward of the state, her mother's parental rights having been terminated a long time ago, and Kushina and Minato lawyered up and took custody of her.

Sasuke might have helped Karin find her family but he didn't feel as though he could take credit for saving her. It wasn't until she had made friends with Sakura that she seemed to have gotten better and started trusting people around her more. Just another person that Sakura's presence made everything better.

It was why when his mother had dragged Sakura to his house the other day that he took her to see Itachi. Itachi needed to be surrounded by more people that were gentle and warm. Sasuke would invite Naruto but he was boisterous and just being around him drained him of energy. He wasn't sure how Itachi would handle it.

"Why don't we all go watch the game with Karin?" Jūgo suggested. "It's been a long while since we've all done something together."

Everyone agreed except Sasuke. He was distracted thinking about the last time he saw Sakura in her volleyball uniform. The top was tight and sleeveless and Suigetsu was right about her spandex shorts. Tiny. The last time he had seen them on her his hand had been down them. He quite liked how her bottom looked in her spanks.

"Sasuke? Dude?" Suigetsu waved a hand in front of his face.

"Yeah. I'll go."

Sasuke avoided Karin and her sharp eyes as she gave him a sly smile before she walked away to look for Sakura.

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes:**_ _**and chapter five.**_

 _ **One of my genuine worries about relationships and having lupus is sex. I'm actually really glad I'm single and I've lost interest in dating. Things were somewhat difficult when I was dating (remember kids, just 'cause someone's ace it doesn't mean sex is off the table, if comfortable and safe I don't mind if my allosexual partner wants a physical relationship) because of pain and exhaustion...and difficulty breathing and did I mention heart issues? Yeah, an extremely increased heart rate can really freak a dude out.**_

 _ **But so my mom use to go to group therapy (I prefer solo) and it was like a support group for chronically ill people and one story that my mom heard made my mom's eyes roll ("how rough are you doing it if you're saying you can't have sex at all and it's affecting your relationships?" she asked me rhetorically because she couldn't say it to the woman) but I related to it. I understand being in so much pain that it's just not an option.**_

 _ **So poor Itachi. Luckily there are plenty of articles online with tips.**_

 _ **So I know that Karin in canon never suffered from abuse or was bullied but I kind of wanted a parallel with Sakura and also it was part of the shit that went down at Oto Prep in their background.**_

 _ **Because of the area I live in, I'm not a big fan of private schools and that's kind of where the Oto thing came in. And partially because of my younger brother's own experiences in private school. He got a scholarship to play soccer at a Catholic school and well, we kind of expected problems because he was one of the rare Muslim/Arab students and let's just say some teachers...should really think before they say things.**_

 _ **I finally got some Sasuke and Naruto interaction in! Yay…**_

 _ **Next chapter should be out during the weekend? I'm going to be honest it may be out sooner─like tomorrow or Friday. And that's just because this actually doesn't take up as much energy as my other fic does oddly enough.**_


	6. Like You're The Back Of My Hand

**Chapter Six: Like You're The Back Of My Hand**

Love at first sight. That's what Mebuki Haruno described the first meeting of Sakura and Sasuke Uchiha. Sakura found it hard to argue against that when she couldn't remember a time when she didn't love him.

They were one and curled up under each other's baby blankets. They were three and holding hands whenever they walked in new places. They were seven when the world first split them apart as boy and girl. They were twelve and changing. Then fourteen and for the first time finding out what the other's mouth tasted like. Barely sixteen and molding and clicking together like puzzle pieces. Then they were seventeen and hurting, both from different heartaches.

As comfortable as Sakura was in their exclusivity, she couldn't help the days she felt like Sasuke's dirty secret. She knew it wasn't just his fault for that feeling and that she was overthinking things but when she was alone with her thoughts it hurt.

"Taro boba tea and tomato mozzarella panini." Sakura dropped off her customer's meal at their table and ignored the way he stared at her too long. She was use to the looks from new patrons because of her hair. It was once a subject of ridicule when she was younger. With a little help from Naruto and Sasuke she grew to love her hair.

" _Sak is like a flower."_ Naruto had once said when they were ten. She use to wrinkle her little nose at the name he chose for her. She still did. " _Very pretty."_

" _They're just jealous."_ Sasuke would glare, face turned away. " _You have something that makes you special and they don't."_

Of course the two had been just a few years late in coming to her defense. Being separated into different classes and making new friends caused them to leave Sakura behind. Ino Yamanaka had been her first saviour.

" _Wow, they weren't kidding. Your forehead_ is _huge."_ Ino had pushed Sakura's shaggy hair out of her face. Blue green eyes widened in awe. " _You're eyes are the greenest things I've ever seen. And this hair! You need a new cut but it's soft and pretty like flower petals. What's a pretty little fairy doing hiding out here all alone?"_

Sakura spent the next half hour listening to Ino's consistent chattering and having her hair tugged on as Ino weaved tiny white flowers from the forest floor into it. It was the happiest Sakura had been in school in the longest time. After that Ino and Sakura were inseparable. A fact that Naruto and Sasuke weren't happy about when they were finally all assigned to the same class the following year.

"No one's paying you to stare off into space." Mebuki snapped her fingers in front of Sakura's face. Her mother sighed and handed her the order for another customer. "You haven't daydreamed like this since you were twelve."

"Sorry," Sakura muttered.

"How's the pain?" Her mother whispered. Sakura sighed and shook her head.

"Barely manageable." Sakura was cramping bad. It was always worse on the first day.

"Go home early today." Mebuki stroked Sakura's hair and patted her shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile.

Sakura stopped running food and wiped down a few tables before heading off. On a normal day she wouldn't mind taking a bus or taking the five mile trek through one of the hiking trails that ran through Konoha's forests that led to her neighborhood. Because her menstrual cramps were bothering her, Sakura walked a couple of blocks through the more condensed, commercial part of town to the Yamanaka's flower shop.

"What's up, Forehead?" Ino had her hair tied up in a high ponytail and was wearing one of the beige shop aprons. She sat behind the floral counter in the center of the shop where arrangements were made, stringing garlands of marigolds.

"I need chocolate," Sakura grumbled giving her a pout. Ino made a tutting noise and put aside the flowers she was working on.

"Mom! I'm calling it a day."

"What? Did you finish your box of garlands?" Ino's mother Noriko appeared from behind the group of large potted plants, narrowing her brown eyes at her daughter. Sakura was surprised to see her mother stressed out, brown hair falling out of her usually tight bun.

"Started on a second. My hands are orange now."

Noriko sighed and nodded her head. Ino hopped off her stool and led Sakura back outside to use the stairs that led up to her family's apartment. Ino stopped by the kitchen to grab a couple of spoons and a tub of ice cream. They entered her bedroom and both collapsed onto Ino's canopy bed.

"Ow!" Ino groaned. She clutched her abdomen and whimpered. "I've been trying not complain since my mom has that order of marigolds for a wedding tomorrow to finish up but I can't take the pain anymore."

"I couldn't finish my shift today." Although grateful for the break, Sakura had really wanted to spend the day at work with her parents. Weekends were really the only chance she had to see them. "Can you drop me off at home later? I don't wanna take the bus."

"Sure. The worse part is that I've been really horny but I also feel super gross so I've been staying away from Sai the past two days so that I don't get any ideas."

"More than I needed to know, Ino."

Sakura grabbed one of Ino's pillows and cuddled with it. She understood the feeling gross part but Sakura usually didn't feel the increase in arousal during her period but the week leading to when it started. She had been crawling into Sasuke's bed every night to help ease the frustration.

Sex was starting to complicate things for Sakura. It was starting to feel like it was the only way she could be close to Sasuke, like it was all they would ever have. But she couldn't just stop either. Even if she tried to separate her feelings from the act, she still clung to the affection she received from Sasuke.

Ino was starting to notice her frustrations with not being in a fulfilling relationship and was starting to meddle. She and Sakura had gotten into a fight the week before because Sakura was fed up with her plans of trying to set her up on blind dates. Sakura packed her schedule with tutoring hours to fill her requirements for the National Honor Society. Ino was initially excited hoping a cute boy would need Sakura's help but Sakura had gone to the middle school section of Konoha Secondary to find students.

"So Naruto has a girlfriend."

"Um. Okay?"

Sasuke had mentioned that Naruto had been talking to a girl over a month ago but Naruto had never brought it up whenever she saw him around school. All she knew was that he had stopped being flirtatious when he talked to people but that could have just been a sign of maturity.

"You're not curious?" Ino raised a delicate blonde eyebrow. "Sai said she's mousey. Plain looking but really sweet."

"Not really? If Sai thought she was pretty he probably wouldn't tell you."

"A normal boy wouldn't but he's blunt as hell. Trust me. Sai didn't hold back from describing how large her rack was."

"Ino?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you bringing this up?"

Sakura turned her head to look at Ino. Ino was staring at her tub of ice cream, poking at it with her spoon. Sakura poked her leg until she looked at her.

"Are you _sure_ you don't like Naruto?"

Sakura snorted. She sat up and snatched the tub of ice cream from Ino's hands. She stuffed a large bite of it into her mouth and let the sweet cream melt into her mouth a bit before chewing and swallowing.

"I still don't see why you thought so in the first place. I was practically babysitting him and treating him like a five year old when we all hung out."

"Well," Ino huffed, eyes narrowing in annoyance. "Anyone would assume so with how you guys were practically joined at the hip when we first started attending K.S.S. And he sure acted like he was your boyfriend."

"Ino. I've been avoiding him whenever possible for the last year and a half. What would make you think I like him?"

"I thought you might be avoiding him because of his new girlfriend."

"No. That's not why." Sakura was starting to get irritated. Ino hadn't been one of Naruto's supporters when he was trying to get her to go out with him but she knew what was going on and never tried to warn Sakura. And for that, Sakura felt that Ino had been just a tad disloyal. "I've been avoiding him because I turned him down. And he didn't take it that well. We're trying to be friends again but he did something I didn't like and he hasn't fixed it yet."

"What did he do?"

Sakura exhaled deeply through her nose and handed the ice cream back to Ino. She was going to need it more than Sakura in a moment.

"I haven't told you something because I knew you wouldn't take it well." Sakura ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "I'm sort of seeing someone. He's not my boyfriend but pretty close to it. We've never actually discussed if that's what he is but he seems to be that. I was already involved with him when Naruto started trying to date me. He didn't know I was seeing someone already but I think he knew I liked the person I'm talking about."

"Sakura. Who are you seeing?"

Sakura stared at Ino for a while. Ino was staring back at her, eyebrows furrowed in what looked like a cross between concern and anger. Sakura guessed that her friend wasn't happy to have information kept from her.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

"What!?" Sakura covered her ears as Ino shrieked. Because she had covered her ear she wasn't prepared for Ino to start smacking her with her pillow.

"What do you mean Sasuke Uchiha is sort of your boyfriend? You guys don't even talk in school unless you have to!"

"Well, you can sort of blame Naruto for that."

"What. Why?" Ino stopped smacking her, curiosity halting her actions.

"Okay, he's not the main reason. Mr. Uchiha doesn't like me."

"Everyone likes you."

"Well not strict fathers that think I will get pregnant and ruin their sons' lives apparently."

"I should have figured it would be something like that. That man scares me. He never smiles." Ino shivered. She seemed to relax for a moment but then she smacked Sakura again one more time. "Now tell me why it's a secret at school. What does Naruto have to do with it?"

Sakura let out a huge sigh. She fell back onto the bed and stared up at it's canopy. She knew it would sound stupid when she told Ino what Naruto had to do with the secret.

"I wanted Naruto and Sasuke to stay friends. I wanted the three of us to stay friends." Sakura recalled how Naruto avoided Sasuke for weeks after she told him the one she liked was Sasuke. "I thought maybe their friendship could be saved if we waited for Naruto to get over me and then we could go back to hanging out. He went through so much trouble to keep us apart when he had the suspicion that Sasuke was the one I liked and then he gave us both the cold shoulder when I confirmed it.

"He eventually started talking to Sasuke again and we slowly started to be friends again without him trying to start anything between us. But he still would go hang out with Sasuke and exclude me and vice versa. I wanted him to feel comfortable with us all being in the same room again. Naruto still hasn't tried hanging out with both of us at the same time. I sometimes feel paranoid like he's still trying to keep Sasuke and I from being around each other. But it's not like that ever worked. Even though he knew about how I felt about Sasuke I never told him the whole truth. He never knew that the entire time he and all of you were scheming to get us together I was already sleeping with Sasuke. No one knew we were involved because Sasuke went to Oto and I felt weird bringing that up. I don't think we should let him know that his best friend was fucking the girl he liked behind his back."

Ino's jaw dropped, blue-green eyes wide. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. She held for seven seconds and then slowly exhaled. She repeated that process three times.

"You guys...are fucking idiots."

"I know," Sakura mumbled. It sounded even stupider when she had said it out loud. "But how am I supposed to believe he's over me if he won't invite Sasuke along when he asks me to hang out with him? When we were fifteen he tried to make me think Sasuke didn't care about me."

"I still don't get how he could possibly do that. And are we talking about the same guy?"

"Yes," Sakura groaned out, exasperated. "After Sasuke and I first had sex I was feeling kind of vulnerable. I just wanted to talk to him and figure out what was going on with us. I couldn't walk over to his house because I was worried Mr. Uchiha wouldn't let me talk to him. He use to tell me Sasuke was busy if he answered the door. And I couldn't reach him by call or text because Naruto had blocked me from Sasuke's cell phone when they hung out the day after. For a moment I thought he didn't want me anymore."

"I wouldn't be friends with him after that," Ino said bluntly. "Fuck Naruto. Doesn't matter how much you like someone, you don't mess with their relationship with someone else."

"But Naruto isn't just anyone, Ino. He's like family to me."

Out of the three of them, growing up, Sakura was the loneliest. Her parents both worked full time so she was always over at Naruto's house or Sasuke's being taken care of by their mothers whom were both housewives. The two of them were her world growing up. Just because her love for Naruto wasn't romantic it didn't mean it was any less than her love for Sasuke. It was just a different type. Much different but just as important.

"Okay. Enough with the melodrama. Tell me about how you started, you know," Ino made a whistling noise and a crude gesture with her hands, "Sasuke Uchiha. Because I love Sai from the bottom of my heart and wouldn't want anyone else but goddamn! And this was when he went to Oto? So this was when he was wearing that uniform and looking all proper and innocent and shit? I can't believe you took Sasuke's virginity. Amazing."

"I think it's time for me to go home."

"Noooo! Talk to Ino!" Ino wrapped her arms around Sakura to hold her in place. Sakura sighed heavily not wanting to start wrestling with Ino and having her mother come up to hear Ino pleading with her to tell her all of her dirty secrets.

"Let me go and I'll tell you."

"Yes! Let me get some popcorn. I already know this is going to be good."

* * *

Sakura wasn't expecting Naruto to be at her doorstep when Ino pulled into her driveway. He paused his knocking and turned to see Ino's baby blue VW Bug and waved at the girls.

"I can stay if you want," Ino offered. "He tries something and I go for the eyes." She held up her manicured nails. She wore her nails in an almond cut so they looked somewhat like claws.

"Nah. Sasuke is watching."

"What?"

"Don't stare," Sakura warned. "He likes to sit on his roof."

Ino subtly tilted her head upward and looked out of the corner of her eye. She almost gaped openly when she saw Sasuke Uchiha just sitting on his rooftop, eating a tomato like an apple.

"Why are all the hot guys I know weirdos?"

"I'll see you at school, okay?"

"I'll probably call later tonight about the questions for the reading in Topics. Remind me again why I took Honors History courses?"

"Bye, Ino." Sakura giggled and waved at her friend. She watched Ino back out of the drive and head out of the cul-de-sac before turning to Naruto.

"Hey, Sak."

"If you continue to call me that I will stop responding to you completely." Sakura was tired of reminding him that she hated that stupid nickname. It sounded way too much like he was calling her Sock. "What are you doing here, Naruto?"

"I have something for you." Naruto reached into his back pocket and pulled out a rectangular strip of paper. "A Flames ticket. For next weekend."

"Naruto─"

"I'm not asking you out on a date!" Naruto cut her off. He waved his hands frantically in front of him, desperate for her to listen to him. "Well, technically I am─but not with me!"

"Naruto, you're just confusing me now."

"A double date." Naruto pulled out his phone and showed her his lock screen. It was a photo of an average looking dark haired girl. The only thing not average about her was her silvery eyes that should have commanded attention but what stood out the most to Sakura was her shy yet gentle smile. "I wanted to take you and Sasuke to a Flames game. This is Hina, she's kind of my girlfriend and I want to be able to take her out but her dad's pretty strict. Like worse than Sasuke's dad. I usually can't go anywhere with her unless she's running an errand with her older cousin or out shopping with her younger sister and I just tag along."

"And she'll be able to go out as part of a double date?"

"Well...we can't call it that and she'd have to call home often, at least once per hour, but she would be able to go without her cousin or caretaker if you come along. You know, 'cause you're a girl and kind of known around town for being such a good girl."

Sakura crossed her arms in front of her chest and stared Naruto down, looking him over for any sign that he could be lying to her. Naruto gave her a puppy dog stare complete with watery baby blue eyes.

"Sasuke is going?"

"Yep. I just gave him his ticket."

Sakura plucked the ticket out of Naruto's hand. Naruto beamed and pumped his fist in a cheering gesture.

"Hina and Sasuke better be going Naruto. This is your last chance."

"They'll be there. Believe it!" Naruto skipped down her drive and dialed a number on his phone. Sakura could hear him talking cheerily to someone he called Hinata. Hina must have been a nickname. Sakura hoped Hinata at least liked hers.

Sakura unlocked her front door and headed straight to her bedroom. She just wanted to curl up in bed and whine about how much her cramps were hurting her. She had just finished changing into a pair of cotton shorts and a baggy navy blue sweatshirt that almost completely swallowed her body when there was a knock on her window. She walked over to open it and Sasuke came in tossing a drawstring bag on her bed.

"Hey."

"Hi," Sakura barely got out before Sasuke cupped her face in his hands and pressed a kiss on her lips. "Um, I can't…"

"Hm? You can't what?"

"Not today," Sakura said softly. She flushed pink and bit her lower lip. Sasuke snorted and rolled his eyes. He walked over to her bed and opened up the drawstring bag he had brought over. He pulled out a thermos and a hot water bottle wrapped in a small towel.

"It's like clockwork." Sasuke handed her the thermos and she opened it up. The smell of hot chocolate filled her room. "And that's my sweatshirt."

"I stole it." Sakura grinned mischievously and took a healthy gulp of the hot chocolate. The heat felt good sitting in her stomach. "I forget sometimes that my cycle is really predictable."

"The wonders of the pill," Sasuke muttered. "Also easier for us to hide than condoms."

Sakura set down the thermos and grabbed the hot water bottle from him. She curled up in bed with it clutching it to her abdomen. She had an electric heating pad she would use later for her lower back pain but she appreciated the gesture. Sasuke kicked off his shoes, lifted up the covers, and slid underneath to join her in bed. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, careful not to touch the hot water bottle with his stomach.

Sasuke's smell was more intense than usual and his hair was still kind of wet. Sakura figured he must have showered earlier. She was about to scold him for being out in the cold with wet hair when she felt a familiar tingling sensation from her nether region. Talking earlier to Ino about what she and Sasuke use to get up to and now his presence was doing awful things to her and her out of whack hormones. She pressed her palm against his crotch and watched his eyes widen a fraction. She continued to rub him through his sweats until she felt him start to harden.

"I want to touch you," Sakura murmured. She watched him swallow, his adam's apple bobbing.

"Okay." Sasuke slid his sweatpants lower on his hips, just enough for her to see the top of his black curls. She used a finger to trace the line of hair that licked his navel, feeling his abdominal muscles clench, down until she was fingering his waistband. Slowly, she slid her fingers underneath and pulled him out.

Sakura inserted two fingers into her mouth and laved them with her tongue before releasing them with a _pop!_ and running them over his length. She stroked him at a slow pace, pausing every now and then to rub her thumb over his tip, causing Sasuke to let out a hiss. She continued that process until she had pooled enough of his precum to use as lubrication.

"I want to look at your tits while you do that." Sakura paused to let Sasuke pull the sweatshirt she was wearing over her head. Sakura picked up speed and pumped him at a nice even pace. She didn't want to go too fast and finish Sasuke off so soon. Sasuke cupped her face and pressed a hard kiss to her mouth. He parted her mouth, giving her hungry kisses, dipping his tongue into her mouth.

"It's been a while since we just fooled around, hasn't it?" Sakura panted after Sasuke pulled away for air. He nodded dumbly, black eyes hazy with lust. He let Sakura's breathing even out and then pressed another hard kiss to her mouth. He started bucking his hips, trying to get even more friction.

Sasuke pressed his forehead to hers, hot breaths puffing out onto her face. His hand that wasn't attached to the arm tucked between their bodies came to rest on her hip, gripping hard.

"Fuck…" Sasuke moaned softly. Sakura liked him like this, when he grunted and moaned and even whimpered with pleasure.

"I like playing with your cock, Sasuke. Do you like when I play with your cock?" Again, Sasuke nodded dumbly. Sakura pressed kisses along his throat, nipping and licking as she followed it down to his clavicle. She sucked hard there, hard enough to rupture blood capillaries. She was going to mark him up.

Sakura chuckled inwardly remembering Sasuke's reaction to the first time she gave him a hickey. It had been an accident.

* * *

 _Sasuke scowled, looking at the mirror on his closet door for a better look at the small red bruise sitting on his collarbone. He would have to button his uniform button down shirt all the way up for the next few days until it went away._

" _Sorry," Sakura mumbled, again, for the tenth time since Sasuke had come to his senses after she had jerked him off._

 _It was her first time touching him, payback for him touching her the last time he had pulled a better score from the practice tests Itachi had drawn up for them. He was suppose to only look, satisfy his curiosity as to what color the hair between her thighs were when he took a finger and traced her slit. The afternoon had ended with her squirming from her seat between his legs as he pumped his middle and ring fingers in and out of her, digging the heel of his palm against her clit._

" _I kind of just...heat of the moment type of thing…" Sakura looked at her feet, her eyes feeling that familiar itch, signaling tears._

" _Lift your shirt up," Sasuke commanded._

" _What?" Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. Sasuke sighed and slid his hands under her t-shirt and pushed the shirt up as he ran them up her torso. He leaned down when the shirt was pooled over her breasts and sucked on top of the left one until he bruised her just like she had bruised him._

" _Now we're even."_

* * *

"That was good," Sasuke panted. Sakura pulled a box of baby wipes from her nightstand to clean her hands and his stomach. They had used tissues once but that had caused more mess than cleaned anything. Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows and frowned at her. "What do we do about you now?"

"I'll take care of it later in the shower. I'll just think about this."

"You're going to think about jerking me off when you touch yourself?"

"What would you rather me think about?" Sakura asked hotly, face flushing red in embarrassment and slight annoyance. Sasuke smirked and pulled his pants back up. He pulled Sakura close again and buried his face in her hair.

"So. We're going to go watch the Flames play the Tornadoes?"

"I guess so."

The two stayed quiet for a moment, content with just lying next to each other. Sasuke broke the silence, catching Sakura off guard.

"I always thought Naruto was pretty shallow. I guess I was wrong."

"What are you talking about?"

"His girlfriend. He showed you a picture, right?" Sakura nodded, still confused. "Because of his crush on you I thought he only went for looks."

"What's that suppose to mean!?" Sakura pulled away from him. Her chest constricted, not liking what she was hearing. She couldn't look past the implication that there was nothing else to like her for. "You should leave Sasuke."

"Can you just listen to everything first?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her. "I mean that he really liked you but didn't really try to understand you that well. He use to use a lot of flattering words to try and get on your good side but he was always making you upset or ignoring your feelings. He kept doing things that annoyed you even when you asked him to stop. Hell, he didn't even notice how you were all tense, wincing in pain, as you were standing in front of him earlier. It was just weird that he would like you but be completely oblivious to everything going on with you even when you were right there by his side. But then with this Hina girl he's more attuned to what's going on in her life. Tries a whole lot harder. And you should see him when he talks about her. Like he actually sees her and not just a face."

"And what about you?" Sakura asked. "Are _you_ attuned to what's going on with my life? Do you know me Sasuke Uchiha? Do _you_ actually understand me?"

"What do you think?" Sasuke adjusted the hot water bottle, the movement easing more of Sakura's pain. "We should probably switch sides so you can use your heating pad."

"Not now. After my shower."

"Your parents won't be here for a few more hours. Want me to join you?" Sakura wrinkled her nose in disgust and shook her head. She didn't want him to see the blood going down the drain.

"We should probably come up for a reason why you're going to be going out, especially with _me_ of all people, next weekend."

"Already taken care of."

"Really? What's the plan?"

"My mother. She wants me to socialize more and she misses you and Naruto. There's no way my father is going to say no to her and risk her finding out what he said about you."

"Sounds like a gamble."

"Trust me. My mother is the best thing we could have in our arsenal."

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _***hides away in shame***_

 _ **I think this is the longest chapter so far…**_

 _ **The Flames are not a reference to the Calgary team. I thought Flames would be a good name because Konoha is in the Land of Fire. I'm actually a Capitals fan.**_

 _ **Also for characters with no names or last names, I'll be using the Japanese V.A.'s names. That's how I got Noriko for Ino's mom.**_

 _ **Sometimes when I describe parts of this version of Konoha and this world I'm actually using the town I live in as reference because it has a bit of everything. It's lots of forest and suburban in a small town that's actually between large cities acting as the crossroads. So ten to fifteen minute drive depending on traffic gets you to like D.C. and then twenty to thirty minutes in the other direction gets you to farmland and stuff. And there's so many forests and biking/walking paths.**_

 _ **Ugh, these kids are so dramatic for no reason. When will they finally be adults? Maybe in a few more chapters…maybe**_

 _ **I know the whole Naruto thing seems like a big WTF but it's like a more messed up and real life version of when he henged as Sasuke and hung out with Sakura.**_

 _ **I also wanted Ino's reaction not to be extremely overprotective even though the way Sakura was talking about her relationship with Sasuke was sketch. She's her best friend she's suppose to be able to tell her things.**_

 _ **I almost made the extremely minor pairing GaaNaru. I didn't really care to think too hard about it because I just needed more stuff to be going on in Naruto's life outside of his best friends. Maybe I'll do it if I write another SasuSaku fic in the future. Just turn all the Original Stories I gave up on into SasuSaku fics. I will probably always use InoSai. Like if one of them is used in a fic I write, they will be paired together.**_

 _ **Next chapter is an Itachi chapter. Prepare to be sad.**_


	7. Let's Take It Day By Day

**Chapter Seven: Let's Take It Day By Day**

Sometimes, opening his eyes in the morning was the greatest accomplishment of the day. Sometimes just breathing was reason to celebrate.

Cold. Unreasonably cold. Itachi's body had difficulty regulating body temperature properly. He could be burning or he could be freezing, sometimes it was the complete opposite of what everyone else felt. Today, he was cold, even in the comfortable heat of his family home.

Sliding his legs over the edge of his bed, Itachi sat there for a moment, taking in all the creaks and aches of his limbs. Just the usual, no new pain. He stood up and walked over to his rocking chair and took his oversized black and red striped duster cardigan that was hanging off the back and pulled it on over the sweater he was already wearing. His father hated the cardigan, calling it too feminine. It became well-worn because of how often Itachi made it part of his ensemble after that.

Itachi sighed, body comforted in it's new layer. He pulled at the sleeves and the way they covered his hands so only his fingernails poked put. His freshly painted fingernails. Itachi's hands shook more often than not nowadays so Izumi took over the painting. If he was in a pleasant enough mood and wanted to go out he would go to a salon with his mother who could care less if it was yet another thing his father didn't like.

" _It's just nailpolish, Fugaku."_ His mother had huffed and rolled her eyes. " _It isn't permanent and besides...it looks fantastic on him. He has such nice looking hands."_

Itachi put on his house slippers, not wanting to feel the cold of the hardwood floor any longer, and made his way down to the kitchen. He shuffled past the great room, grateful for his house slippers as he walked over the marble tiling, and made his way to the kitchen.

"Don't you dare only drink juice, Itachi." Mikoto narrowed her eyes at her eldest son as he reached for the pitcher of orange juice in the fridge. Itachi sighed and made room for his mother to pull out ingredients for a late breakfast.

Itachi had the bad habit of skipping meals. Sometimes due to nausea but mostly because he didn't have an appetite or the energy to eat. He couldn't summon the will to eat anything when his body didn't communicate hunger to him. The periods of time in which he was prescribed Prednisone made it easier to eat because it increased his appetite but at the same time it made it harder to sleep.

Itachi sat on a barstool at the kitchen island and watched his mother as she cooked. His mother looked young for her age and she moved with grace. Sometimes he felt like his mother was the twenty-two year old and he was the forty-four year old. It wasn't like that was an old age, but a twenty-two year old should be able to run circles around someone that age.

Itachi smiled softly, eyes tender as he watched his mother's process. She sprinkled a bit of sugar with the salt she used for his rolled omelet because of his love of sweet things. She slid over a small bowl of the fruit salad that she had been preparing earlier for him to eat, mostly berries with clementine slices. She warmed up a croissant, his preference over toast.

Itachi didn't usually care for the way his mother spoiled him and Sasuke. He would have been fine with a bowl of cereal but he wouldn't take this away from her. He hadn't needed her most of his life, a truly independent child. He never complained and never asked for anything. He was a genius, choosing to take the high school equivalency test instead of attending and going straight to college when he was fourteen, never once needing his parents help in his studies.

It wasn't until he was nineteen when he first started getting sick that his mother felt like she had any part in his life. It wasn't until he got sick that he started realizing that he had never put much mind to his family. He loved them but he never made much time for them, not even for Sasuke who he was forced to admit was the person he cared about most, even more than the rest of his family, more than anyone else.

"Where's Sasuke?"

"He went for a run earlier. He's in the exercise room now."

Itachi sighed. Although his family was humble it was hard to forget that they were blue bloods when he looked around at his home. It was one of the reasons he preferred to eat in the kitchen. It was ridiculous that they had a breakfast room which was the same size as their dining room that was attached to the living room that they only sat in when they had guests. It was a beautiful room filled with an array of houseplants but Itachi felt weird and out of place in his large and beautiful home.

"I'm going to go to Shisui's place later."

"Invite him over for dinner," Mikoto ordered as she cleared the counter of the used dishes. "And Izumi too. You guys hang out all of the time but I feel like I haven't really seen either of them in a while."

"Of course."

Itachi left the kitchen to head over to the exercise room which required him crossing the great room again. The great room was even more proof of how ostentatious their house was. All the furniture was high end and modern and faced a recently renovated fireplace to match the modern interior of their home.

Itachi found Sasuke using one of their family's weight lifting equipment to work on his arms. His younger brother was shirtless revealing a lean yet muscular form that reminded him much of what he use to look like when he had the energy to exercise. Because it was winter now he couldn't swim in their pool. Swimming was the easiest form of exercise for him but he disliked indoor pools.

Itachi smirked at his little brother who was heavily distracted with his workout and hadn't heard him come in due to having his headphones in. It amused Itachi at how much energy Sasuke had left over to work out considering his healthy sex life. Granted he hadn't heard anything the night before but Itachi had heard plenty of soft sounds coming through his bedroom wall every night the previous week. No matter how quiet they tried to be, Sasuke and Sakura's night sessions were just loud enough for him to hear. It was a good thing that the master bedroom was on the first floor and if there were any guests to use the room down the hall they wouldn't be able to hear at all. Itachi had tested the distance in which they could be heard.

On bad days, Itachi was angry, pissed off that his brother would be so inconsiderate as to rut like an animal when he knew on the other side of the wall his older brother's bed stood against it, their rooms almost a perfect mirror in regards to the furniture. He refused to acknowledge the jealousy he felt when he heard Sakura let out pleasured and happy sounds. Sounds he couldn't always pull from his loves because of the shape of his body.

On better days, it amused him how Sasuke's mood and behavior depended on whether or not Sakura and him were visiting each other. In fact, the past week had easily been Sasuke's best week since school had started. Itachi had caught him humming to himself the other day as he grabbed something to eat before school. If it weren't obvious that they were keeping their relationship secret, Itachi would have laughed in his face at the fact that Sasuke stood straighter, the bags under his eyes were lighter, and he wasn't as quick to snap at everything that irritated him. Getting laid was just as good for Sasuke as his therapy sessions were.

"Sasuke?" Itachi pulled out one of Sasuke's earbuds. Sasuke paused in his repetition and looked up. "Can you drive me over to Shisui's?"

"Aa. Let me shower first."

Itachi hated when he had to depend on others. He preferred when he could come and go as he pleased but some days, like today, it wasn't possible. He didn't have the energy required to drive himself. Didn't have the energy to argue with himself that he would be fine on his own.

* * *

Shisui lived in a small but posh apartment in River Place, the area Fugaku called the "artsy" part of town where Konoha started to look more city than town. Itachi couldn't argue with his father, almost every architectural structure on the other side of Naka River was a work of art including the bridge needed to cross to reach River Place. At night the bridge lit up along the arch revealing a beautiful rainbow light mosaic art piece. It glowed at a healthy brightness that didn't disturb the residents but still made it a wonder.

Itachi would have moved there, moved in with Shisui if he hadn't gotten sick. He hated being a burden to his family, he wouldn't do it to Shisui or Izumi.

Itachi had tried to leave them once. He tried to split up from them causing them all to get into a fight. Shisui and Izumi refused to part from him, inserting themselves into his life so that even though they weren't together he was still stuck with them. Itachi eventually caved in, too lovesick to be near them yet so far away at the same time.

"Hey Babe," Shisui greeted him when he walked into apartment and shut the door. Shisui cupped his face in his hands and gave him a kiss, too deep to be chaste but short enough that it wasn't inappropriate for a greeting.

"Hello," Itachi smiled softly giving him a peck on his cheek. "Where's Zu-Zu?"

"She found out you were coming over this morning and rushed over here to disinfect and clean everything." Shisui rolled his eyes and grinned cheekily. "She's a mad woman. Honey! Babe's here!"

There was a small crashing sound like something was being dropped and then the thud of feet slapping on the hardwood floor.

"Ita!" Izumi turned the corner and wrapped her arms around Itachi's waist. Itachi kissed the top of her head and she squeezed tighter. "Thank God you're here. I was stuck with Shi and his mess the entire morning."

"It wasn't that bad." Shisui hugged Itachi, squashing Izumi between them. "You're exaggerating, Hon."

"Oh, please," came Izumi's muffled reply. "Your place would be filthy if Ita and I didn't clean up."

That wasn't necessarily true. Itachi hadn't been able to do any cleaning in a long time so it was usually Izumi taking care of everything. Itachi would help with small things here and there but Izumi had a hard time letting him. Itachi had blown up once when she wouldn't let him do a few loads of laundry and Shisui got angry when Izumi started crying and apologizing. It wasn't a good day.

"I hope you already set up the movie, Shi," Izumi pushed herself free from their group hug and headed to the kitchen to grab a bowl of popcorn that was sitting on the counter. "You had more than enough time to get everything ready."

"Yeah, yeah."

Itachi followed Shisui to the couch. Shisui leaned his back against the arm and pulled Itachi to lie with his back against his chest. Izumi followed behind them and nestled herself in front of Itachi between his legs. Shisui's guests always wondered why his couch didn't face the television. It was their favorite sitting position.

Twenty minutes into the movie, Itachi started squirming. He couldn't stay comfortable and his body was protesting it's stillness. Izumi had to get up so that Itachi could stretch out a bit. It happened a few more times causing them to pause the movie frequently.

"Let's take a nap," Izumi suggested, faking a yawn. Itachi's eyes narrowed at her, knowing exactly what she was trying to do and he felt slightly insulted that she was trying to get him to rest after watching a movie. No matter how much he needed it.

"A nap? Or a _nap_?" Shisui asked, rubbing his crotch against Itachi's backside. Itachi felt heat creep up his neck remembering how he couldn't allow Shisui to finish the last time they were all his bedroom due to the stress it was giving his muscles and legs. He felt pathetic at how Izumi and Shisui had to do all of the work when it came to sex.

"No, you perv," Izumi snapped, face flushing pink at the way Shisui was staring at her lewdly. "I wanna cuddle."

"And I wanna see you sit on Itachi's face. Let's compromise."

"How about we just cuddle?" Itachi sided with Izumi. He wasn't going to try to prove anything to anyone with how his body was feeling.

They curled up altogether on Shisui's king sized bed. He had bought the bed so big so they could all lay in it comfortably. Izumi stroked Itachi's hair as he rest his face in the crook of her neck. Shisui wrapped an arm around her waist, his face buried in her hair. Itachi tried to relax but his body was feeling restless.

"I think when we have kids they should all be Shisui's."

"What? No. I thought they were going to be all of yours, Babe." Shisui frowned. "When curly haired kids pop out your parents are going to flip and question your marriage to Honey. What are we going to do? Confess that I'm fucking the both of you? Yeah, sure. Fugaku's gonna _love_ that."

"I want one from the both of you," Izumi mumbled into Itachi's hair. "Why are we discussing this?"

Itachi sighed and pressed his face deeper into Izumi's neck hoping the smell of violets would cheer him up. It didn't.

"No child should share my genetics."

Izumi stiffened in his hold. It was one of the weird things about Itachi being sick. They were over considerate to his condition but at the same time acted like he wasn't sick at all. Pretended that he didn't have Lupus or MPA. Itachi knew that it wouldn't be fair to bring children into the world that he would doom to being sick the same way he was. He knew that was one of the reasons why Sasuke kept Sakura at arm's length. It was in his genes too. Itachi had all of the symptoms and the struggles but he wasn't the only person in his family that may have Lupus.

"You're such a pessimist." Shisui tugged on Itachi's ear playfully. "What are the odds one of our kids has it? So what if it runs in families? Look at your mom and dad. They're both healthy."

"And so am I." Izumi took Itachi's chin in between her thumb and index finger, lifting his face up to hers. She smiled tenderly at him and placed a sweet kiss on his lips. She leaned her head back and kissed the underside of Shisui's jaw. "And I'm having one of your curly mopped brats too. I want our kids to have a little of each of us."

"Besides," Itachi mused, "it wouldn't be too weird if we ended up with a curly haired child. Look at Sasuke's hair."

"That's not curly. I don't know what the hell that is."

"It's unruly. And it defies gravity." Izumi giggled. "And it's close enough."

* * *

Dinner was awkward. It was too quiet as they all chewed their food. Itachi's mood kept getting lower and lower.

He tried not to react to his pre-cut steak. Itachi knew his mother only did it so that if his hands had started shaking throughout the meal that he wouldn't feel embarrassed when he needed to ask for help. But he still would have liked to have _tried_ to cut his own food.

"I'm going to a hockey match with Naruto on Saturday."

Everyone looked up from their dishes and turned to face Sasuke. Sasuke took a bite of his steak, staring down his father who sat across from him at the other end of the table. Fugaku put down his fork and knife and put his elbows on the table. He clasped his hands in front of his face and rested his chin and mouth on them.

"You're going out?" Mikoto asked excitedly. Itachi smiled to himself, glad that Sasuke could do something to make her happy. "To hang out with friends?"

"Just Naruto?" Fugaku asked.

"No." Sasuke matched his pose. "I'm going with Naruto, his girlfriend, and Sakura. He wants us, his best friends, to meet her."

"Naruto has a girlfriend?" Mikoto squealed. Fugaku frowned at his wife but she was no longer paying attention to him. "You have to send me a picture of her on Saturday." Mikoto turned back to her husband and asked, "Can you transfer money to Sasuke's account? You're going to go eat dinner before the match, right?"

"You expect him to pay for all of them?"

"Now you're just being obtuse Fugaku." Mikoto pursed her lips, her hands on her hips. "I _expect_ Sasuke to pay for his own meal and for Sakura Haruno's. I _expect_ my son to be a _gentleman_."

"Doesn't Sakura Haruno have a job? And wouldn't her feminist ideologies cause her to feel insulted that a man would assume he needed to foot the bill?"

"Fuagku. Again, you're being obtuse." Mikoto crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Sasuke should still offer and let her decide. And if she lets him pay he should have the money to back up his offer. _Now transfer the damn money_."

 _Well played Sasuke_. Itachi had to hold back from smirking. Sasuke had purposefully informed his parents of his plans so that it wouldn't be a surprise when Sasuke was out with Sakura. And on top of that he had gotten his mother involved and now if it seemed like he and Sakura were on a date it wasn't because he had taken her out but because his mother had told him to act the gentleman.

"Why do I feel like I owe the brat a pat on the back?" Shisui leaned over and whispered to Itachi.

"Because he deserves one." Itachi smirked.

His father was severely mistaken if Sasuke was going to continue taking his bullshit lying down. Itachi took a sip of water and looked at his father and back to his brother, both of them continued to stare each other down as they ate.

Fugaku may have won some past battles but Sasuke wasn't going to hand him the war.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _**So I couldn't do it. I couldn't make this too sad. So I just stuck to some of the reality of Itachi's situation without going too extreme. Yet. But it is a peek at Itachi's life so I hope you guys liked that.**_

 _ **I was inspired to write Itachi's POV so soon because I was having a bad body day. I did more than I should have yesterday and ended up fucked up today. My poor legs. My poor back. My poor lungs.**_

 _ **I don't wanna spoil stuff but some of you have been asking me not to kill Itachi off. I will not be killing him off. As someone who is so sick, I would hate to write about someone like me dying. And there's enough stories out there where the death of someone like me is used for plot. Itachi will have a hard life with ups and lots of downs but I refuse to kill him for the sake of a story.**_

 _ **The kid thing is because of my own feelings. I cannot have kids. It would be very tough and take a huge toll on me both physically and emotionally. Pregnancies while having antiphospholipid antibody syndrome usually leads to miscarriage. I have catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome so I will not be taking my chances. It's rare to be able to have children, especially if you don't have the money to go get taken care of by special oncology and hematology doctors. I already planned on adopting one and having one naturally if I choose to have kids (which I may not because personally I do not feel that I'm fit enough) but I will probably stick to just adopting.**_

 _ **The cutting food thing is an actual thing that happens with me. I cried once in the middle of a restaurant because a relative of mine took my food and cut my chicken while using a mock-baby voice to taunt me he entire time. And then got pissed that I was crying instead of realizing that what they did was hurtful. It wasn't fucking funny and just because someone is disabled doesn't meant that they shouldn't be treated like a fucking adult.**_

 _ **For the readers of my other fic The Planning Of A Matriarch: expect an update by Tuesday. For the readers of this fic: ditto, but possibly on Wednesday if I'm too tired.**_


	8. Talk To Me Talk To Me

**Chapter Eight: Talk To Me Talk To Me**

There was something heartbreaking about the smell of winter. It caused an ache in her chest when she breathed it in. The air of Konoha was brisk and clean, the cold of it harsh on Sakura's cheeks as she ran through the worn-out path through the trees of the section of forest behind her neighborhood.

There were hundreds of trails, Konoha being mostly forest especially in the residential areas, but Sakura preferred running off the paths down the one she beat into the forest floor over the years.

She, Naruto, and Sasuke had created this path when they were ten. They would run through the woods together, Sasuke and Naruto racing against each other leaving her to trail behind them. Naruto refused to acknowledge that Sasuke was faster, always trying as hard as he could to push past him. It had taken a few more years before Sakura was truly able to run alongside them.

"On your right."

Sakura turned her head slightly to her right. A dark blur pushed ahead of her. When she was finally able to focus on the back of the person running on _her_ path she recognized the gravity defying locks that sat at the back of Sasuke's head. Sakura grinned at the faux casual way Sasuke jogged, a slow pace for him that she could easily match without difficulty.

Sakura touched Sasuke's elbow to get his attention, knowing that he wouldn't go for a run without his headphones. Sasuke looked at her from the corner of his eye and raised an eyebrow. Sakura grinned cheekily and sprinted ahead, swerving down a newer path than the one they were on. She listened to the thud of feet hitting the ground behind her and knew he was chasing after her. She had a headstart but he was going to catch up soon. After all this time he was still faster than her.

Just a short moment after she took off ahead of him, Sakura was pulled to the right from behind by a pair of strong arms. She stayed still, letting Sasuke drag her off of the path behind a tree.

"You're not a morning person," Sakura stated cheekily. Sasuke rolled his eyes and took his headphones out.

"And you don't like the cold." Sasuke tugged on the zipper of Sakura's sky blue lightweight running jacket. She protested and slapped his hand away. She wore thermal gloves, thermal leggings, and a thermal sweatshirt under her jacket and she still felt cold. She had no idea how Sasuke got away with wearing his basketball shorts and a hoodie over a t-shirt. She swore he had fire in his blood.

"So what's your day like today?"

The two of them strolled through the woods forgetting their workout. No one ever came by this part of the woods and it had become one of their hiding places over the past year. They would walk until they found a secluded clearing and just lay in the grass talking or just enjoying each other's presence in silence.

"How's Itachi?"

Sakura shifted on her side and stared at Sasuke as he looked up at the gray November sky. They laid in the grass, a yard apart, and Sakura reached out with her arms in the space between them, reaching for him, finger tips longing to make contact. Sakura wanted more words. Wanted to hear his thoughts and his feelings. Wanted him to be more open. She wanted to know all about what hurt him.

 _Talk to me, talk to me. Just turn around and talk to me._

Sasuke turned his head to look at her. He just stared at her, face blank for a moment, and then crawled toward her. He hovered over her and pressed his face to her neck, inhaling her scent and pressing kisses to her jawline and throat. He unzipped her jacket and slid his palms up her torso, pushing her thermal up.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke kissed her fiercely and pulled up her thermal and sports bra up by her armpits. Sakura hissed as the harsh cold air nipped at her skin.

"Sasuke! It's too cold for that!" Sakura squirmed and pulled herself away, adjusting her clothes. Sasuke scowled and turned his face away from her. Sakura pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at him.

 _Is that really all I'm for?_

"I have to go Sasuke. I'll see you later."

Without taking another look back, Sakura got up and sprinted away. She didn't hear the thud of feet hitting the ground chasing her this time.

* * *

 _Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!_

Sasuke pulled away from the exercise room's cardio strike bag. He reached back for it, resting his forehead on it. His forehead was slick and slipping from the sweat but he gripped onto it with his hands.

He couldn't get the look on Sakura's face out of his head. The confusion, the frustration, and then the hurt. He knew he was being pretty shitty when he ignored her but he didn't want to talk about Itachi. Sasuke didn't want to think or talk about what was going on with his brother. But he also couldn't just fuck his problems away.

Sakura was a wonderful reprieve from constantly worrying and stressing about what was going on with Itachi and his body. She was a source of warmth and a blissful distraction from his father's unrelenting judgement and demands for greatness in all that he does. But pounding her into his mattress wasn't enough for a relationship. At least not one that Sakura deserved. One that he wasn't even sure he could give her.

Frustrated, Sasuke pulled back from the strike bag and spun, slamming his heel against the bag with enough force to almost topple it over.

"Wow. It must have really pissed you off. I'm sure the strike bag is sorry and would like to talk it out."

Sasuke almost audibly groaned when he heard his cousin's voice. Shisui had always been irritating, taking up all of his brother's free time when they were younger. It only got worse when he started fucking him.

Sasuke shook his head and tried to clear his negative thoughts. It was rude to belittle his brother's relationship with Shisui by narrowing it down to their more carnal forms of intimacy. He understood that Itachi, Shisui, and Izumi had a hard time as it was with the way society judged their relationship. The three of them had sat him down and gave him the "sex talk he wouldn't hear in school or from their parents". It was weird hearing his brother tell him he was panromantic asexual and that Shisui was bisexual and that it _seemed_ that Izumi was heterosexual because so far she was only attracted to men. Talking about different sexualities had been overwhelming back then considering he wasn't sure if he was _ever_ going to be interested in sex when he was fourteen years old.

Well, he figured that out fine later on despite Naruto's pushiness to get him to watch porn and to "figure that shit out". Shisui just laughed at him when he told them "it" only seemed to work when he thought of one specific person. Izumi was at least nicer and told him it was probably more of an emotional thing for him. Sasuke completely blanked when Itachi tried to give him a long lecture about the ace spectrum and decided he didn't give a fuck about sexualities and whatever the hell "demisexual" was.

It was a lot easier for him to just go with whatever makes someone happy then to deal with all the labels of things. He, personally, just didn't care.

"What are you doing here Shisui?" Sasuke bent down to pick up his towel and iPod from the ground.

"I came here to hang out with your brother since I'm off today. It's rare that it's ever just him and me and we need to talk."

"Without Izumi?" Sasuke paused in wiping his sweat off and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, this isn't a group thing and I know Itachi wouldn't appreciate it if we talked about it in front of her."

"Why are you excluding her?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Shisui and crossed his arms in front of his chest. He knew he was being unusually defensive of Izumi but he was still affected from when Naruto used to isolate him and Sakura. The situation was completely different but it still caused something unpleasant to stir in his chest.

Shisui frowned at him but then smirked, crossing his arms in front of his chest and shifting his weight to one leg, hitching one hip up.

"Because Izumi babies Itachi sometimes and he won't feel comfortable venting about the fact that Itachi and I are having problems being physically intimate if she were there. It's not an Izumi thing that and he wouldn't want her to worry about it."

Sasuke's face twisted in disgust. Somehow hearing about his older brother having sex was just as bad as when he had heard his parents _actually_ having sex when he was younger. He knew Itachi had sex with Izumi and Shisui and had always felt insecure about it because sometimes he was repulsed by the act and didn't want them to think he didn't love them. It was just awkward because Itachi had always been as much of a parental figure to him as his parents were.

"Don't make that face. _You_ asked."

"He's not feeling well today so keep your hands off of my brother," Sasuke snapped, pushing past him to leave the exercise room. Shisui grinned broadly and followed him.

"You really need to get over your brother complex."

"Shut up!"

"Why are you guys arguing?"

Sasuke looked across the great room and saw Itachi holding a mug and a plate of cookies and wearing his oversized duster cardigan. Sasuke hated how much smaller it seemed to make Itachi.

"We're not." Sasuke looked down at the marble floor, trying hard not seem like a little kid getting caught breaking a rule and failing. He walked over to his brother and grabbed the plate and mug from him. "I'll take this up to your room."

"Oh, we're going to the media room actually. We're going to turn on Flames Central and listen to a bunch of middle aged men and the one woman make commentary for hours before watching the match. And don't worry, I actually like how the heat feels on my hands." Itachi took back the mug and cupped it in both hands.

"Why do I feel like you're mocking me?" Shisui muttered.

Sasuke shifted on the balls of his feet, feeling uncomfortable. It was one of those moments that he felt guilty even though it would probably hurt his brother's feelings if he knew that Sasuke was feeling any guilt.

Sasuke was excited to go watch the Flames play. Usually he would curl up on the couch in the media room and watch with his brother. Ever since his brother started to drift apart from his friends, he had been the one to hang out with Itachi and he felt guilt naw at him if he left him alone. He also felt guilty knowing that going to a live match was something that Itachi would enjoy but had difficulty even thinking about the possibility because he was never sure if he could attend until the day of and if he couldn't that would be a waste of tickets. And pushing himself on that day to sit in an uncomfortable arena seat would mess him up for the following day.

Itachi's life just sucked so much.

"Don't you have to get ready for your date? You stink." Itachi wrinkled his nose at his brother. "Go shower and Shisui and I will pick you out an outfit."

"I can dress myself," Sasuke grumbled. "And it's not a date."

"Sure you can," Shisui laughed. "And of course you're not going on a date with Itty Bitty." Sasuke didn't like the way Shisui winked at him.

"Don't call her that." To Sasuke it seemed as though everyone had something they called Sakura and she hated nicknames. Well, not all of them. Sakura did seem to like the one Itachi gave her but it wasn't like anyone disliked Itachi and the nickname was sweet.

"Just go shower, Sasuke." Itachi pushed his brother toward the foyer to get to the stairs. He sounded tired of the conversation and standing there so Sasuke allowed himself to be ordered around just to give his brother a break.

"And do something about your hair."

"Shut up Shisui."

* * *

Sakura decided to walk over to Naruto's house and wait with him for Sasuke. Logically it made sense because she wouldn't be pushing her luck by getting in the car alone where Fugaku could see them. And she could also make sure that Naruto was dressed properly for his date.

She was avoiding telling herself she was just trying to stay away from Sasuke for as long as she possibly could.

Sakura had been excited for today. She was going to go watch her favorite hockey team play and she was going to be going on her first date ever. It didn't matter that it was a double date and that Naruto would be with them the entire time. But she apparently got excited for no reason. She wasn't going on a date. It was Naruto's date with Hinata. She and Sasuke were just going for the ride.

"You look, um, nice?" Naruto raised his eyebrow at Sakura's attire. He was under the assumption that she was going to dress cutely. Sakura had shown up in light blue skinny jeans and knee high boots but wore the white and red jersey for her favorite player, the goalie, under her faux fur trimmed utility jacket. It wasn't what he expected from her as date clothes which seemed like a bad sign. He had hoped that this would be a good chance for his best friends to act like a couple but something seemed to have happened.

"Are you really going to wear your orange hoodie? Naruto, I hope you at least washed it."

Naruto grabbed onto the strings of his hood defensively. It was like his security blanket. He never left the house without his hoodie in his favorite color.

"I used Febreeze."

"Gross, Naruto."

Sakura sat on the edge of Naruto's bed, too scared to go near anything else. How he got away with having a messy room with Kushina for a mother baffled her. She would have hung out with Karin but she seemed to be out for the evening already. Karin's room was cluttered─Sakura found out she was secretly a sentimental person that hated throwing things out─but clean and everything seemed to have an order that was easy to understand. The Uzumaki cousins were so different.

 _ **I'm outside. Why did you go ahead? I needed to talk...**_

"Sasuke's outside." Sakura cleared the text from her notifications, not bothering to open it and read the rest.

"Ready!" Naruto smashed a bright red beanie with the Flames logo across the front on his head. It clashed horribly with his orange hoodie but he looked happy. "Let's go pick up Hina."

Sakura and Naruto headed out, hugging Kushina goodbye before leaving. Naruto pulled her right into a giant bear hug, lifting her slightly off the ground.

" _Behave_ Naruto!" Kushina called out as they headed down the drive.

"Sheesh, you would think I was seven or something," Naruto grumbled. "What are you doing?"

Sakura was in the process of climbing past the front passenger seat to get to the rear seats of Sasuke's two door Jeep. Sasuke hadn't said anything, just looked at her all confused.

"Sakura, I'm going to have to sit in the back with Hina."

"We can switch when we get her."

Sakura buckled her seatbelt and looked out the plastic window of the soft top, refusing to look at Sasuke.

* * *

Hinata was a quiet girl. Sasuke forgot she was there sometimes because she seemed to sort of blend into the background. The opposite of Sakura. His eyes kept shifting to look at her as she walked on the other side of Hinata who was practically being dragged by Naruto who hadn't let go of her hand ever since she got into Sasuke's Jeep.

"There was a perfectly good ramen place down the street," Naruto complained. He had tried to drag everyone over there but Sakura put her foot down and insisted that it wasn't appropriate despite Hinata's protests of not caring where they ate. Sakura got her way and they were standing in a Pizza Kitchen much to Sasuke's secret delight.

He hoped he was part of the reason Sakura suggested the place but she had been giving him the cold shoulder. It seemed he was in for another one of her silent treatments which was starting to get annoying.

"Two," Sasuke informed the hostess. "Preferably a booth."

"Sasuke there's four of us." Naruto poked hard on his shoulder. Sasuke elbowed him to get him to stop.

"Really, idiot? Don't you want one on one time with your date?" Sasuke continued to give Naruto an unimpressed look as he watched his face flush crimson.

"Oh."

"Yeah. _Oh_." Sasuke pushed Sakura on the small of her back despite the noise of protest she made when she realized that he had just split the group. He knew she wouldn't want to cause a scene in front of Hinata, hoping to make a good impression for Naruto's sake.

When they got to the booth, Sasuke waited for Sakura to slide in and slid in after her, trapping her inside. Sasuke quickly placed their order of four cheese and tomato pizza with extra tomatoes before Sakura could make any comment.

"Really, Sasuke? You're going to trap me in here?" Sakura huffed and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Isn't this what you do on a date? Obnoxiously sit on the same side of a booth and leave the other side completely empty?"

"Wait. _We_ are on a date?"

The tone of voice she had used stung a lot more than Sasuke was prepared for. He forgot sometimes that a side effect of Sakura having become friends with Ino Yamanaka years ago was that she no longer had a problem with making biting comments. Sakura wasn't always sweet. It just wasn't something he ever had to deal with.

"Aren't we?" Sasuke asked softly, playing with the rolled up cloth napkin of utensils left in front of him. "I was under the impression that we were."

"We're not," Sakura answered. She rest an elbow on the tabletop and rest her cheek against her fist, facing away from him. "Couples go on dates. We're just people that fuck each other."

There was a watery edge to Sakura's voice. Sasuke was sure that if she was looking at him he would see her jade eyes turn glassy as they welled up with tears.

"There's more to us than just people that fuck each other."

"Okay. We're _friends_ that fuck each other." Sakura turned to face him, glaring. "No. Not friends. Friendly acquaintances. Neighbors that are just way too friendly."

"I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to─"

"It's fine, Sasuke." Sakura leaned back against the booth and looked up at him with a defeated look on her face. "I just misconstrued what I meant to you. But I would really like to stop whatever the hell it is that we're doing, okay? I can't anymore."

Sasuke expected this to happen. He figured one day Sakura would want more than he could currently offer her. He just hadn't expected the conversation to happen in the middle of Pizza Kitchen during what was suppose to be their first real date.

"I just wanted you to talk to me." Sakura's voice was low and raspy, like she was holding back from sobbing. "I'm starting to feel like all I'm good for in your life is to lie on my back and spread my legs. Would it even matter if it was me?"

"Don't you _dare_ try to suggest that. Don't think for one second that─"

"What else am I supposed to think?" Sakura cut him off. "I just want you talk to me but apparently I'm useless for anything that isn't physical because you _never_ tell me how you're feeling or what you're thinking about. What do you want from me, Sasuke?"

 _Everything_. But Sasuke knew he shouldn't ask for anything from her. He was always lost in his head thinking about the unfairness of his brother's life. His father was intent on controlling his life. He had to keep his mother blissfully ignorant of exactly how controlling his father was so that she could remain happy and her attention would stay on Itachi who needed her care and affection more than he did. He was still fucked in the head from all the shit that went down in Oto, something he was _never_ going to talk to anyone about because it involved more people than just him.

But he could be just a little selfish, right? His relationship with Sakura was the only selfish thing he had done in a long time.

"This." Sasuke slid his hand across the booth's seat and grabbed Sakura's hand, interlocking their fingers. "I want this."

"Sasuke─" Sakura pulled away from him and looked down at her lap when the waiter came back with their pizza.

They sat in silence for a bit. Sakura picked out all of the excess tomato slices from her pizza and put them on Sasuke's plate. After a quiet ten minutes Sasuke grabbed onto Sakura's hand again. He pulled her hand under the table and intertwined their fingers. He held on tight when Sakura tried to pull away.

"I can try harder. I _will_ try harder." Sasuke rubbed the hand he held with his thumb the way Sakura usually rubbed his when they held hands as they tried to fall asleep. Sasuke waited patiently for an answer. It came in the form of Sakura resting her head against his arm.

"So. How do these date things go?"

"Not completely sure. But we're definitely not doing _that_."

Sakura looked over in the direction Sasuke was nodding his chin towards and giggled. Naruto's table was in perfect sight of theirs and he was attempting to feed Hinata but was using a lot more force than necessary to place the food in her mouth.

"I guess it's cute when they do it." Sakura pulled out her phone to take pictures of them. It would be good teasing material. "So what do you think about Hinata?"

"Quiet. Small. I wasn't really paying attention."

"Really? She was sitting right in your car and you didn't notice anything else besides the obvious fact that she's small?"

"Well, I was focused on more important things. Important pink haired things." Sasuke smirked down at Sakura who had flushed pink.

"She seems nice."

"I can't gather any opinion on the matter considering she barely talks."

"I thought you would consider that a good trait since you don't talk much yourself."

"Naruto is my best friend and you're my girlfriend. And you two are the chattiest people I know other than Yamanaka. I don't think most people would take that information in and come to the conclusion that I like quiet people."

"I'm your girlfriend?"

"Jesus, Sakura. What else would you be?" Sasuke scowled, the tips of his ears turning red in embarrassment. There had been too much awe in her voice when she asked the question.

He hadn't thought it needed to be said out loud. It was the kind of the thing he considered to be obvious. Yes, their relationship had to remain a secret from his father and sadly the other members of his family for security, but it wasn't like he didn't want her to be his girlfriend. He assumed she had been his girlfriend for the past few years already.

 _Well. Now I know why she doesn't ever bug me about anniversary stuff._

"You're annoying you know that?"

"Hey! I am not─"

Sasuke stuffed a slice of pizza in her mouth to prevent her from talking. Sakura narrowed her eyes at him but took a bite from the slice. She pouted and looked sort of cute with tomato sauce on the corner of her mouth.

 _Dates aren't that bad, I guess_.

* * *

"You're being ridiculous." Sasuke sighed and pushed Sakura toward his car. When she hopped out of his Jeep to let Naruto out from the back seat she tried to start walking home but was dragged back into the car.

"You're dad is going to see me and think we lied about going to the game."

"You're overthinking everything. It would make perfect sense for you to still be in my car considering you live _right fucking next door_. Besides. Date's not over."

"What?"

"I had to share you with Naruto and Hinata. So date's not over."

"We just fought earlier about the fact that all we seem to do is have sex. Do you really think─"

"We're going to talk. You wanted to talk right?"

Sakura chewed on her lower lip. She did say that she wanted him to open up more. But now wasn't the best time.

"I do. I think we have a communication problem. But not now. I would rather you be home on time and not get in trouble with your dad."

"Fine. I'll just come over later."

"No!"

Sasuke's eyes widened at her cry of protest. He knew he had fucked up earlier and was aware that they wouldn't be having sex anytime soon but he didn't expect to be completely barred from her room.

"Not tonight," Sakura said quickly. "I feel like tonight's not a good night for one of our gambles. We just went out together and it feels riskier."

"Fine."

Sasuke turned back around, driving back up Forest Grove Street to enter their cul-de-sac. He pulled up his driveway and was going to walk Sakura the twenty feet to her house when she held up her hand to stop him.

"You should go straight to your house. Don't even look to make sure that I'm in my house."

"You're being paranoid."

"Just do it Sasuke."

Sasuke sighed and did as she asked. Sakura kept an eye on him as he walked up his stone walkway and up the stoop of his house to make sure he never turned toward her house. As soon as Sasuke unlocked his front door and walked in the light in the living room went on. It was safe to assume that it was Fugaku waiting for Sasuke.

 _God. That man is predictable._

Sakura shook her head and went inside her own home. She headed into her kitchen and found a note on the counter. Her parents had gone to bed because of their early start the next day but left something for her to eat in the fridge just in case she was hungry after the game. Her dad said he would see her at work in the morning and that he wanted a play by play of the match. Her mom had placed kisses goodnight with her baby pink lipstick on the bottom of the note.

Sakura went to bed wondering why some parents had the time to spend with their kids and yet wasted it on not loving them properly.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _**Yes, there was two POVs this chapter. Next chapter will be back to Sasuke. Just in case you're wondering: Odd numbered chapters will be Sasuke POVs and Even numbered chapters will be Sakura POVs unless I insert an Itachi chapter. The chapter following an Itachi chapter will most likely be dual POVs and then the order will continue as usual in the chapter after that one.**_

 _ **So I've been inserting a lot of my relationship with my younger sister in here lol. When I came out to my family as panromantic asexual (and agender to my sister) my sister was the most interested and I ended up helping her figure things out a lot about sexuality and gender identity. She was grateful because it helped her understand what was going on with her friends, classmates, and herself (she thinks she may be demisexual but also understands that she doesn't have to be concerned with any labels or identity unless she wants it for herself).**_

 _ **And on that note, I'm glad that so many of you are digging the poly relationship here.**_

 _ **There was a guest that made a comment about Itachi and him being a bottom here? I'm just going to explain that I'm most likely not going to be explicit so it's not that important but I went the Shisui X Itachi route instead of Itachi X Shisui because 1) I saw a lot of ShiIta fanart on tumblr and like...none of ItaShi so I went with what seemed preferred and 2) it would be easier to go with ShiIta just because as a submissive person it's easier for me to write Itachi's struggles in his relationship if it weren't ItaShi. (Also slightly because I see ShiIta being more of a possibility than ItaShi lol) Hope that clears that up. Didn't think I'd ever have to discuss this lol**_

 _ **Thank you guys for all your support. I think I've mentioned before that I made this fanfic as sort of a spin on an original story of mine where the MC is chronically ill but decided to use mostly the sibling's POV for this and it actually is very encouraging to know that people do care to read about chronically ill characters and their lives. So it made me happy that you guys liked the Itachi POV chapter.**_

 _ **I posted on tumblr the other day but I'm going to bring it up here again because I rarely talk about writing fanfic on tumblr anyway: I will be slowing down updates on The Planning Of A Matriarch and focusing more on Kingdom For Two. I'm not in the mindset to write TPOAM because of some frustrations I'm having but this fic is so close to my heart because it does bring up a lot of stuff from real life for me so expect the updates for KFT to be at a steady flow.**_

 _ **Next chapter should be out in a few days.**_


	9. Let's Take A Trip

**Chapter Nine: Let's Take A Trip**

Sasuke was getting fed up with his friends. One of them kept holding his phone up to his face instead of his book and the other wouldn't stop staring off in the direction of a certain redhead with a dazed expression on his face.

"I thought you guys wanted to study."

Naruto and Suigetsu had asked Sasuke to tutor them. Suigetsu needed to keep his grades up to remain on the swim team and Kushina had asked Mikoto if Sasuke could help Naruto with Pre-Calc. Naruto's grades had been dropping and Sasuke had a pretty good idea why.

Sasuke snatched Naruto's cell phone away. He looked at the screen and saw that he had been messaging Hinata. Sasuke was tempted to remind Naruto that if he distracted his girlfriend when she should have been doing her own schoolwork that her tutor would inform her father and she would have her phone confiscated. He would have, but the idiot had been so damn happy the past few weeks and everything was starting to get back to normal with them.

But he didn't mind screwing with Suigetsu.

"Stop undressing Karin with your eyes and pay attention."

Suigetsu scowled and Naruto's face twisted in disgust.

"Gross! Dude, that's my cousin!" Naruto gagged and Suigetsu reached to throttle him but Sasuke slammed Naruto's chemistry book on the desk to get their attention back.

"You're such a dick, Sasuke." Suigetsu frowned and pulled his Konoha Swim Team hoodie's hood over his head. He leaned back in his seat and lazily scrawled his answers to the practice problems Sasuke had made for him.

"Naruto, why do you have your Chem book with you?" Sasuke raised his eyebrow at his friend but instead of answering him Naruto just started waving excitedly to someone behind him.

"Sorry I'm late Naruto."

Sasuke looked up and saw Sakura slide into the seat next to him across from Naruto. Karin had moved from the table she was sitting at and grabbed a chair to sit at the end between Sakura and Naruto.

"What are you doing here, Red?"

"Sakura told me she was going to tutor you in Chemistry for her last few hours this semester for the Honor Society and asked me to come with so that I know where to continue at home."

"What? No! You suck at teaching!"

"No, I just don't have the patience for morons," Karin sneered. Sakura gave a small cough and gave the Uzumaki cousins a disappointed look. Naruto dropped his gaze to his lap in shame. Karin turned her head away haughtily.

"We're in a library," Sakura scolded them. She turned to Sasuke and Sasuke was taken aback at how sweetly she smiled at him. Usually she was polite and gave the same smile she gave everyone else when they were in school but the adoration she usually had to mask was out in the open for anyone to see. "Sorry but this is the only time I can make to tutor. Do you mind if I help Naruto with Chem? You can assist Hozuki in the meantime."

Sasuke really wanted to ask her why she was too busy. She usually did have a packed schedule. All seniors had to do at least twenty hours of community but Sakura went beyond that, actually enjoying volunteering at the Konoha Hospital Center. Then she had to do tutoring for the National Honor Society's requirements. But she no longer had volleyball since it was winter now so that should have cleared up part of her schedule.

"I prefer to be called Suigetsu. But you can call me Sui since you're so cute. Only cuties can." Suigetsu winked at Sakura and Sasuke glared at him.

"Doesn't Jūgo call you Sui?" Naruto cocked an eyebrow and grinned impishly at him. Karin started snickering and Sakura covered her mouth with her hands to suppress her giggles.

"Don't you have something to study, Blondie?" Suigetsu snapped, turning back to his own work.

"Okay, Naruto. What are you having difficulty with?" Sakura pulled out her reading glasses and slipped them on.

Sasuke tried to focus on helping Suigetsu with his math work but he was distracted with Sakura sitting next to him and Naruto across from them. Nostalgia washed over him as they all sat in the library.

* * *

 _Sasuke paused in his writing as Sakura let out another frustrated huff. She was lying stomach down on his bed towards the foot of the bed and he was sitting on the floor with his back against it. Naruto had left moments earlier, Kushina having come by to pick him up for soccer practice._

 _Sasuke had started attending Oto Preparatory School two years prior, Naruto and Sakura had continued on to Konoha Secondary School after they all had graduated sixth grade from their local elementary school. Although they no longer attended the same school, the three of them still got together at Sasuke's to do homework and hang out. Mikoto liked to keep the three of them around to keep an eye on their studies._

 _Sasuke watched as Sakura chewed on her lower lip and tapped her pencil against her nose. It was something she always did when she was concentrating on something she was trying to solve. It was an old habit but it was starting to make Sasuke feel strange when he saw her nibble on her lip._

 _Sakura let out another sigh and shifted her body, squirming a bit to find comfort. Sasuke knew it was mostly due to the fact her body had started to react to her anxiety over not being able to solve the practice problems Itachi had left for the both of them. Sakura wanted more challenging work but math had never been as easy for her as her other subjects._

 _Shifting her body had brought Sasuke's attention lower, down to her clavicle and further. Her small breasts squished against his mattress creating an oddly appealing visual. Sasuke was almost tempted to reach over and button up her red blouse all the way. Now that he was in ninth grade he was starting to notice changes in his friend that he hadn't before. He blamed Naruto and Shisui for his predicament._

 _Naruto had always been a pervert but it was getting worse as they got older. He had come over some time ago with a DVD he had "borrowed" from his godfather and watched it on Sasuke's desktop. Sasuke had been repulsed by what he had seen and Naruto told him he was abnormal. Naruto kept coming over after that with new DVDs to see if he could figure out what Sasuke was interested in._

 _Nothing really clicked for him. It all seemed empty and meaningless. He felt nothing from what he was watching. When he brought up his concern with Itachi that he felt like something was wrong with him, it had been Itachi and his partners that took him aside and taught him about sexualities. Izumi took on the gentle older sister role and told him it was nothing to worry about. He was still really young and was probably not emotionally ready. Shisui joked with him and said the answer was probably closer than he thought. And he was right._

 _Sasuke tried to do what Naruto seemed to do, look at girls his own age─some older─and try to see them in a different light. The three girls he knew that were popular for their looks were Izumi, Ino Yamanaka, and Sakura._

 _In Izumi's case it felt disloyal towards his brother to even attempt and slightly incestuous since they always had a sibling type relationship. He thought she was pretty, just like how he thought his mother was beautiful. Not that he would tell her because then Izumi would think that he actually liked her and it was fun watching her pout when she thought he didn't care if she was there or not. Izumi still thought that sometimes, a slight insecurity stemming from the fact that he would cry and whine whenever she was around Itachi when he was a toddler._

 _In Ino's case he understood logically why boys were interested in her. On paper it made sense. She had long silky blonde hair and almond shaped blue-green eyes framed with thick dark brown lashes that she would flutter teasingly. Ino was already curvy and boys like Naruto and Kiba Inuzuka had a hard time not staring at her chest. But she was loud and brash and it irritated him to be around her for too long. He had no idea how Chouji Akimichi and Shikamaru Nara did it but he guessed it had to do with the fact that the three of them were like Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura: childhood friends since the crib._

 _Sakura's popularity upon leaving elementary school unsettled him and Naruto. Naruto was always complaining about upperclassmen following her around and that she was just too cute for her own good. Sasuke was unsure of what to to think about that. Despite some annoying tendencies, he had always thought Sakura was nice, talkative but it was comforting and unsettling when she was quiet, and the only girl whose presence was welcomed. She was obviously pretty, his favorite characteristic was her wide green eyes. He loved the way they shined when she was happy and hated how they glittered when they welled with tears._

 _Sasuke liked Sakura. He could list all of her good traits but if he were honest he could probably find them in someone else. Anyone could be sweet and caring. Ino was proof that there were many chatty girls, perhaps he could find another one that wasn't annoying but comforting. But just thinking about Sakura not being by his side and someone else taking that place, that seemed to have been regulated to her since they were infants, caused a sharp pang in his chest. There wasn't any real reason he could find about why he liked Sakura. It was just something he felt and it got stronger every day._

 _He felt awkward watching Sakura, like he was being a bad friend, but he was curious. He wanted to know if he could muster any other feeling besides the obvious like. Sexual attraction was something he believed was important at fourteen, a bad concept instilled in him due to society._

 _Did Sasuke think Sakura was physically attractive? Yes, of course. No one could argue that she wasn't pretty. A heart shaped face dusted with freckles that were slightly darker than her creamy skin. Plump pink lips that he kept finding himself looking at more often than not. Her eyes. He couldn't get enough of her green, green eyes._

 _The more he stared at her the more he found more to like. She had long toned legs that he liked to watch as she ran towards him after he sprinted ahead of her and had to wait on her to catch up. She had a flat stomach that she exposed when her shirt slid up when they lounged around in the grass of their backyards, enjoying the weather. Sasuke recently discovered that he liked the way her body dipped and curved, her round and perky bottom becoming more pronounced, when she lied on her stomach on his bed when they were spending time in his room._

 _Sasuke enjoyed when she was close, close enough to smell the apple scent of her shampoo. Close enough to feel her shoulder length strands tickle his cheeks. The softness of her mouth against his._

 _Wait._

 _Sasuke had been distracted, daydreaming, and never noticed Sakura lean over the edge of his bed to kiss him until she already had. His eyes widened and he watched her, confused, as she pulled away from him._

" _Um. You were kind of staring at me, my mouth, so I...I thought maybe..that you also wanted to..." Sakura bit her lower lip and her eyes became downcast. "Sorry, can we pretend that didn't happen?"_

" _No." Sasuke swallowed hard. Sakura blinked up at him, jade eyes glassy from tears ushered out of embarrassment. Wanting to feel how soft her lips were pressed against his again, Sasuke cupped the base of Sakura's neck and pulled her back down to kiss her._

 _Not sure of what to do he just pushed harder against her lips. Sasuke's ears started to heat up, embarrassed at his inexperience, but soon enough something wonderful happened. Sakura matched his fierceness and parted her lips, the pressure causing Sasuke's to do the same. Sakura moved her mouth against his, slow and clumsy, and he followed her lead. After a while of moving their mouths together a strange urge to be closer overwhelmed him and he attempted to pull Sakura even closer, forgetting that she was lying on the edge of his bed._

 _Sakura fell over, crashing her head against his knee. After an initial outcry of pain, Sakura blinked up at him and started to giggle. Her face flushed pink and her eyes shimmered with mirth. Her eyes were bright with glee and Sasuke liked them like that. Liked them like that a lot. And apparently kissing her was one way he could keep them like that._

 _He bent over and cupped her face in his hands, bringing her up for another kiss. Sasuke heard her sigh, and felt her breath enter his mouth. Sakura's hands slid up his arms and over his shoulders. Sasuke felt the pads of her fingers slide up his neck and into his hair. There was a tingling sensation on his scalp and he was enjoying the feeling. Sasuke slid his hand under the hem of Sakura's blouse, feeling how soft and supple her skin was underneath his fingertips._

" _Sasuke!"_

 _The two of them froze upon hearing Mikoto calling him. They pulled apart, scrambling to their feet when they remembered the door to his bedroom had been open the entire time. Luckily for them, Mikoto was just shouting up the stairs, voice loud and clear because his room was closest to them._

" _Mebuki just called. Sakura needs to go home now."_

 _Sakura rushed to pack her bag, stuffing her papers and notebooks haphazardly. Sasuke stood there watching her, unsure of what exactly had just occurred. He kissed Sakura and he enjoyed doing it. He didn't enjoy the uncomfortable warmth pooling in his lower stomach after the fact but it was ebbing away after the shock from his mother shouting._

" _I'll see you after school tomorrow," Sakura told him. She stood on her toes, now much shorter than him, and pecked him on the mouth. "Bye."_

 _Sakura tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, face flushing an even brighter pink. She looked down at her feet and then quickly left. He could hear her small feet stomping all the way down the stairs. Sasuke stood there, slightly dazed and unsure of what to feel or do. He could ignore what had happened and continue doing his homework, forgetting that he and Sakura had just done something quite new for them. Or he could take a break and think about how good it felt to wrap his hand around Sakura's hip and how nice her soft sighs sounded in his ears._

 _There was a warm and giddy feeling welling in his chest when he remembered how she smiled at him, eyes all warm and bright after he kissed her. The heat in his stomach returned when he thought about how flustered and pink she looked after they pulled apart. He definitely didn't want to forget either of those expressions._

 _In fact, he was looking forward to the next time he could pull both those looks from her._

* * *

"If you still want a ride to work we gotta go now." Sasuke's attention was drawn away from checking Suigetsu's worksheet by Karin scooting her chair back. He looked up and saw Sakura packing her things.

"Sorry Naruto but I have a shift at the café today."

"You work on weekdays now?"

Everyone turned to look at Sasuke. He hadn't meant to say that out loud but it had come out. Karin's russet colored eyes gleamed mischievously as she smiled at him. He had never gotten around to asking Sakura about the weird looks Karin was giving him but now he definitely knew that she knew something.

"Yeah. I start today." Sakura shifted her shoulder straps so they sat more comfortably. She carried more books than the rest of them. "I never got around to telling you 'cause I just talked about it to my dad this morning."

"Why would she tell _him_?" Sasuke heard Suigetsu whisper to Naruto.

"I'll call you tonight, okay?" Sakura bent down and kissed his cheek. Sasuke's face warmed up. He slightly panicked because of the physical display of attention. It seemed like a Sakura thing to do but they had never done something like that in front of others. Sakura turned back around and linked arms with Karin who was cackling as they exited the library.

"Did you see his face? Priceless." He vaguely heard Karin tell her as they left. Sasuke was still dazed but already conspiring to get back at Sakura for embarrassing him in front of their friends.

"What the hell was that!?" Suigetsu cried out. Naruto, who was snickering, started making shushing noises at him, pointing to the librarian that was glaring at them from behind the checkout counter. Suigetsu narrowed his eyes at him but then turned on Sasuke and hissed out a whisper, "Why is Sakura Haruno, one of the _hottest_ girls in this stupid school, kissing _you_ of all people?"

"Wait, he doesn't know?" Naruto grinned impishly. "Oh, this is going to be good. Suigetsu, didn't you ever wonder why Sasuke seemed like he was never into girls?"

"Well, yeah. I thought he wasn't interested in girls when we were at Oto but I assumed he had a crush on Haruno after I caught him staring at her a few times after we transferred."

Sasuke glared at the two of them. They were talking about him like he wasn't even there. He stared at Naruto hoping he would take a hint from the look on his face to stop talking.

"Oh, it's not just a crush. He's _in love_." Naruto batted his eyelashes and clasped his hands to his heart. Sasuke threw a ball of paper at his face but Naruto just brushed it off and continued. "They've been dating for, huh, I don't know how long actually. When did it all start again Sasuke?"

"Since we were like fourteen," Sasuke hissed, eyes narrowing even more. Sometimes he wondered why Naruto was his best friend when he couldn't even decipher what Sasuke was thinking by looking at his facial expressions.

"What!?" Now it was Naruto that shrieked. He held up his hands defensively when the librarian made a scandalized noise of protest. "Fourteen? _Fucking fourteen_? I thought you got together when we were fifteen, maybe sixteen. You should have told me then. You guys suck."

Sasuke sank lower into his seat. Everything was starting to go back to the way things were with the three of them but he occasionally felt guilty in regards to having kept everything secret from Naruto. Their friendship might not have taken a dive if they had let Naruto in on everything from the start. They might have just been fooling around, flirting with the idea of being more the first year they were involved, but they should have told their best friend when they became more serious. Sasuke was slightly distracted when Itachi was hospitalized but there really was no excuse. He should have done something when he first noticed Naruto's odd behavior.

They couldn't go back and fix it so they just had to deal with what they could now.

"Well, that's just not fair. _Of course_ the prettiest girl around would end up with this gloomy asshole." Suigetsu rolled his eyes and snatched his paper back from Sasuke, looking it over for what he had missed.

"I wonder what Karin would think about your interest in Sakura," Sasuke drawled. He knew that Suigetsu didn't actually like Sakura but it still bothered him that he couldn't go five seconds without commenting on how she looked.

"Eww, gross. No. No!" Naruto clamped his hands over his ears. "We're not discussing my cousin and this soggy bastard. If anything is going on, I don't wanna know."

"Soggy?" Suigetsu raised an eyebrow questioningly at Sasuke.

"Because you constantly smell like chlorine water and almost all your shirts are never one hundred percent dry."

"I hate him."

Sasuke shrugged and took out the worksheet he had prepared for Naruto. That hadn't gone too bad. Maybe hanging out with Sakura in school wouldn't be so bad. It's not like he ever ran into any relations in school.

"Wait. _Are_ you involved with Karin? Is that why she's always coming and going whenever?"

"No. We're not together. If she hasn't told you anything about what she does in her free time then it's none of your business." Suigetsu stood up and packed his stuff. "I have practice. I'll talk to you guys tomorrow."

Naruto watched him leave and as soon as he was gone he turned back to Sasuke.

"Do you know anything?"

Sasuke shook his head. He really didn't know. He never really understood how the four of them─Sasuke, Jūgo, Suigetsu, and Karin─became friends considering he wasn't that good at dealing with people and taking much interest in their lives. The only people outside of his family he could say that he really knew was Naruto and Sakura.

And sometimes he didn't really know his own family and what was going on with them.

* * *

It was never a good sign if Sasuke came home and his dad's Crown Victoria was already sitting in the driveway. He never worried if it was his Mercedes-Benz because Mikoto mostly used that vehicle, but the Crown Vic always made Sasuke want to U-turn and go anywhere else.

All Sasuke wanted to do after basketball practice was take a shower and go to sleep. He had swung by the Haruno's café to grab a tomato and mozzarella panini to go and to get a glimpse of Sakura so he didn't need anything to eat. Considering he had his own bathroom in his room he didn't need to leave his room for anything for the rest of the night.

But since his dad was home there would be other plans.

Sasuke sighed and entered his home, knowing he couldn't waste time trying to avoid any confrontation as long as possible. Fugaku would already know that he was outside. As soon as he removed his shoes and placed them inside the foyer closet, his mother called out to him from the great room.

Oddly enough, his family was just casually lounging. Mikoto had prepared a tray of mugs filled with hot cocoa and there was a fire roaring in the fireplace. Itachi was sitting on one of the two loveseats, bundled up in his sweaters and a blanket covering his legs. Fugaku for once wasn't looking at him with one of his more dour expressions but with a relaxed and content look.

"It doesn't take more than fifteen minutes to get home from your school. You took thirty-five." The question of where he was didn't need to be asked out loud.

"I stopped somewhere to get something to eat."

"That's not why we were waiting for him, Fugaku," Mikoto scolded her husband good humoredly. "You're being too strict. It's not even curfew yet. Come and take a seat. Sit, sit!"

Instead of taking a seat on the cushion his mother was patting, Sasuke headed over to the couch Itachi was sitting on and sat with him. Subtly, Itachi moved closer, not minding the slight smell of sweat in favor of Sasuke's body warmth.

"We were discussing our plans for our trip coming up," Mikoto informed him cheerfully, getting up to hand him a mug. "We're going to a ski resort during winter break. You're silly brother wants to bring Shisui along. Why ruin a perfectly could chance for a romantic winter wonderland vacation by bringing his friend along?"

Sasuke shifted his gaze to his older brother. Itachi had an impassive look on his face but his grip on his blanket tightened.

Just like Sasuke kept his relationship with Sakura a secret, the nature of Itachi's relationship with Izumi and Shisui was as well. Their parents didn't know that the three of them were all involved with each other. Fugaku wouldn't stand for it and Itachi didn't think his mother, as open minded as she could be, would be understanding of a poly relationship. And even if she was understanding and ready to back Itachi up, Itachi would never put her in a position where she would have to oppose her husband.

"It's not just that. We already booked our rooms and there is nowhere to place Shisui," Fugaku backed up Mikoto with what he thought was more logical reasoning.

"Why doesn't he just take my room?" Sasuke offered. "I have practice all winter break so I can't go anyway. The Varsity team doesn't take a break. I can just stay with Auntie Kushina and Mr. Minato."

"We're not leaving you here alone," Fugaku said gruffly, narrowing his eyes at Sasuke.

"I wouldn't be here home alone. I would be staying with Auntie Kushina."

Sasuke and his father stared each other down, much like they had when Sasuke said he was going with Sakura to a hockey match that Naruto had invited them to. They were drawn out of that state by Mikoto letting out a disappointed sigh.

"I wanted us all to go but I should have known you would pick basketball over a vacation with your family. You work too hard." Mikoto took a sip of her hot cocoa and let out a contented sigh, the sweetness bringing her mood up a bit. "I guess Shisui can take Sasuke's room. We don't have to modify the reservation."

"Is that all? Because I need a shower."

Fugaku nodded and Sasuke excused himself. Itachi stood up, stating he was tired and needed to go to bed, and followed him up the stairs to their bedrooms.

Before Sasuke entered his room, he felt a hand tug on his elbow. He turned to look at Itachi who gave him a weak smile.

"Thank you, Sasuke."

Sasuke nodded slowly at his older brother and entered his own room, locking the door behind him.

Sasuke pulled his clothes off wondering how his family could try and pretend to be so happy when all of them were keeping secrets from each other.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _**The title comes from the literal trip and taking a trip down memory lane…**_

 _ **I want to put more flashbacks of Sasuke and Sakura's relationship. I hope this one didn't seem out of nowhere and that it flowed well.**_

 _ **I kind of want to post the floor plans for the Uchiha house so you guys would understand the layout better. I don't think I'm that good at describing it yet. If there's an interest I may make a tumblr post about it and let you guys know what tag to find it under next chapter.**_

 _ **I kind of wish I could have replied to this in a PM:**_ _A guest reader said they wanted Sasuke to "become his own man"...I'm going to state this right now: Sasuke is_ **seventeen** _in this fic right now. He isn't exactly a "man" yet and I'm writing his family life as kind of like mine where even turning eighteen doesn't mean shit unless you have a job and can move out to your own place and never need your parents for anything again. If you haven't noticed, Sasuke has a focus on his academics and doesn't work. He is completely dependant on his parents. He can't exactly fight for anything right now, but he's getting there. (He and Fugaku are not a white father and son in a coming of age movie; he's not going to tell his dad what he wants from his own life and his dad is just going to accept it since it's what Sasuke said he wants, this ain't High School Musical. It's more like that movie 21 & Over starring Justin Chon, Miles Teller, and Skylar Astin. Jeff Chang's dad wasn't having any of it.)_

 _Also, Itachi is_ **not** " _his own man". I thought I was clear (I must have screwed up somewhere) that he has a frustrating and sad life. He is a sickly person that is periodically taking long breaks from work and is frustratingly reliant on his family. Also, he's twenty-two so his father doesn't care if he's dating because he's more of an adult than Sasuke despite also being dependant on his parents. But just because he's allowed to date Izumi it doesn't mean he has it easier. Shisui is allowed over all of the time because as it was stated he is a distant cousin so he's a family relation and his parents assume he's just Itachi's male friend not a lover. That's why he's allowed over all of the time. And because Itachi is sick, his parents are_ **thrilled** _when he goes to hang out with him or Izumi. It's an aspect of "normal life" that anyone would want for their child that is chronically ill. Trust me, my parents love when I socialize because I'm not laying around all sad and mopey because my body is in pain and I am suffering from fatigue, frustrated that I can't go out and do things someone able-bodied and my age could do._

 _And although Itachi feels like a burden to his parents and would like to move out where he is free to live the life he wants with Izumi and Shisui, he can't. It's easier to feel like you're a burden to your family than someone you are romantically (sometimes just a friend too) involved with (I tried to move in with a bf and another time with my best friend, and both times ended in failure for me). Itachi wouldn't be able to help with rent or chores depending on how he's feeling and there's the insecurity that your loved one would stop loving you because they're tired of taking care of you. So he's not going to move in with Shisui and Izumi, especially since out of the three of them only Shisui really has a job. It hasn't been said yet but Izumi is still a student in college and lives at home with her mother._

 _Also, Itachi is Sasuke's closest and most beloved family relation. They hide each other's secrets and understand each other. So of course Sasuke is wrapped up in what's going on with Itachi._

 _ **Next chapter will be out in a few days. For readers of TPOAM: I am going to try and update on Monday.**_


	10. Security Blanket

**Chapter Ten: Security Blanket**

Lazy mornings were the best. The world was quiet and Sakura didn't have to worry about what was on her agenda for the day. Sasuke's sheets felt crisper and the mattress softer. His voice was low and raspy, in the best way, right next to her ear as he slowly rocked against her.

"Mmmh…" Sakura moaned softly as Sasuke lifted her hips up higher for a better angle. One hand slipped in between her thighs to play with her clit and she let out a whimper. She called out his name with a sleepy sigh as he continued to tease her fleshy little knob with lazy circles.

This was her favorite way to make love, slow and deep unhurried thrusts with Sasuke pressed flush against her back, his panting and grunts right at her ear. Sakura snuggled deeper into the pillows, gripping tight on their cases as her chest and stomach lay flat against them.

"You're allowed to be louder you know," Sasuke teased as he kissed and sucked and nipped on her shoulder.

"Habit," Sakura panted back. "We're rarely alone in your house."

Sasuke's family went away to the mountains for winter break. With Fugaku four hours away and distracted with keeping Mikoto happy for the next few days, Sakura was free to come and go as she pleased from the Uchiha's house as long as they were careful not to travel in and out when Sasuke's cousin Obito was circling the block. Mikoto trusted Sasuke to stay home alone as long as he checked in with her twice a day and ate dinner at Naruto's house, she just asked that he remember to water all of her house plants, but Fugaku didn't.

Sasuke told Sakura that his father had expressed concerns that he would be throwing parties and bringing girls over while they were gone. Mikoto snorted and told him that she would welcome any "normal" behavior from their son. She complained that he was too quiet and that she wished he would act like kids his age which had Fugaku scoffing.

Sakura mewled, enjoying her climax even in her sleepy haze. When she came down, Sasuke pulled back to turn her over. It always amused Sakura that Sasuke seem to have a preference for looking at her directly when he reached his own release.

"You get in the mood at the most random times," Sakura teased as she wrapped her arms around Sasuke's neck. Any sign of sleepiness was gone from his face and it would be easier to talk to him. They had just been sleeping when Sakura felt hot kisses on her neck and back. Usually she was the one up first and Sasuke unwilling to open his eyes in the morning but she wasn't going to complain. It had been a nice surprise.

"Your fault." Sasuke's breathing came out shallow and harsh as he picked up a quicker pace. "You're the one that gets horny at two in the morning. We have a fucked up schedule."

Sakura giggled but then was cut off when a thrust hit her particularly well and she let out a soft whine. She pouted when Sasuke smirked down at her. It had been a long time since anything could actually make her embarrassed but she still got flustered whenever Sasuke looked a little too proud of the fact that he knew her body so well.

Sasuke came with his forehead pressed to hers and his eyes on her eyes. Whenever he did that it always felt more intimate than the act they were just engaged in. Sasuke swallowed Sakura's whimper when he pulled out of her with a kiss and then flopped onto his back. Sakura crawled on top of him and pressed her cheek to his chest, straddling his waist with her knees on the bed, thighs trapping him underneath her. She snuggled closer when she felt his arm wrap around her waist.

"This is nice," Sakura murmured.

"Yeah, too bad my parents don't go on trips more often." Sasuke sighed and stretched out his arms. All of his movements caused Sakura to shift but she maintained her hold on him. "I hope Itachi's having fun."

Sasuke was still struggling with opening up so sometimes he would make vague statements that Sakura would have to draw her own conclusions for. She assumed he was worried that Itachi wouldn't be able to enjoy himself up in the mountains where almost all of the entertainment involved outdoor activities. Sakura had looked up the resort that the Uchihas were staying in and there was a spa so it was likely that Itachi could spend the week relaxing.

"I'm sure he's fine. It was nice of you to give up the trip so he could take his best friend with him."

There was an odd pause. For a moment Sakura thought Sasuke had fallen back to sleep but when she looked up at him he was just staring into space.

Sasuke always got this way when it came to talking about Itachi. Even if he was making an effort it still felt as if he were holding back. It was an odd change from when they were in primary school, when Sasuke use to talk about his older brother all of the time and bragging about how great Itachi was. It had slowed down when they entered secondary school because Sasuke became slightly embarrassed of showing how much he loved his older brother especially since Itachi had become even busier with school and training at the police academy. Although he wouldn't be able to actually be a police officer until he was twenty-one, training was made available for him. A perk of being the police chief's son.

Sakura remembered how the usually stoic Itachi became bashful when his mother took pictures of him on his twenty-first birthday with his new uniform and his first haircut. The rules were pretty lenient but Itachi wanted to be by the book when he first started and had gotten rid of his long locks, looking more like Fugaku than he already did. It was the first time Sakura could remember seeing Fugaku smiling so fondly at any of his children.

Itachi was only an active officer for that first year. The following summer he had been hospitalized. That was when Sasuke─and Sakura and Naruto─found out about Itachi's illness. He and his parents had kept it secret for two years while it seemed manageable.

That was when Sasuke became even more withdrawn.

Sasuke was already becoming more sullen and closed off as it was. He never liked to talk about his school life and although he played on Oto's basketball team he never wanted Naruto or Sakura to go to his games, whether they were home or away. Because of an incident involving Sakura being ganged up on when they had visited once during his first year in Oto Prep, where the least damaging part of the attack was having her hair cut off, the two of them never really argued the fact. The administration at Oto refused to believe any of their students were involved in the assault of a Konoha Secondary student because "their students were above such barbaric actions."

Sasuke was saved from being expelled because of his reputation as an honor student after their self defense plea fell on deaf ears. Naruto─with help from his father─was let off easy, just being banned from entering the school grounds ever again. Sakura was banned as well, not that she ever wanted to go anywhere near Oto again.

"He deserved a vacation and so did my mother. Hopefully with both Shisui and Izumi around she won't fret over him so much and actually have fun."

"What are you doing today? Besides basketball practice that is?"

"Nothing. You want to hang out later?"

"I was asking because I was curious. I'm hanging out with Karin and Ino." Sakura rolled off of him and stood up stretching. She ignored the feeling of being observed and grabbed her clothing from the floor. "Do _you_ want to hang out later?"

"I'll hang out with Naruto this afternoon." Sasuke sat up, resting his forearms on his legs. "God knows I haven't been hanging out enough with that moron."

Sakura smiled to herself as she slipped her top over her head. Sasuke always grumbled about spending time with Naruto but she knew how much he actually enjoyed hanging out with their goofball.

Sasuke would never admit it but one of the best parts of his day was when he got to go over and hang out with Naruto at his house or go somewhere, anywhere, away from Forest Grove Court. Anywhere with his best friend away from the big empty house.

"I'm gonna get Karin to cut my hair today."

"Don't let her shave the side of your head." Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her, face completely serious.

"Just a trim." Sakura held up a long strand and pinched a two inch section to wave at him. "And a layered look possibly. Or maybe I should get a pixie and an undercut. Just a buzzcut on the back of my head near my nape."

"As long as you're not shaving the side of your head like Karin, I don't care. And as long as you don't try to dye your hair again. That was a disaster. Pink suits you fine."

"Uh-huh." Sakura rolled her eyes and kissed him on top of his head. "I'm going to go home and shower now. Want me to come over again tonight?"

"If you want." Sasuke swung his legs over the side of his bed and stood with a stretch and reached for his sweatpants on the floor. For a moment Sakura just stared at him, dazed, until she felt like she was being stared at. Sakura averted her gaze after Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her. "You're a real pervert, you know that?"

"Says the one that keeps sticking it in me," Sakura muttered, marching out of the room. She could hear Sasuke let out a snort as he followed her to the back porch door. She wasn't scaling the building anymore but she still took precautions. So far Obito didn't use the key left to him to come in but he was still prone to sitting out front and watching the front door.

"I'll come by later tonight. I'll text you if I can't."

"Like I said, only come if you want."

Sasuke never asked her to come over. He would only ask her if she was or answer like he just did if Sakura asked him if he wanted her to come over. On the rare occasion he would just say that she was coming over, as if there wasn't any question that she would.

Except for when she was giving him the silent treatment, she always came over. Ever since Itachi was hospitalized a few years back it never felt right to leave him alone.

"I want to. I'm coming over."

Sakura smiled softly at him, pretending not to see the relief in his eyes. If he wanted to act strong than she'd let him.

* * *

"Next time," Ino fumed, " _I_ drive."

She rubbed the space between her breasts through her sweater and scowled at Karin. Karin just stared ahead refusing to acknowledge her complaints.

"Oh, crap." Ino grimaced and brushed Sakura's bangs out of her face. "You have a bump on your forehead. Kind of makes your forehead look even bigger. I didn't think it could."

"Haha real funny, Pig." Sakura pushed her hand away not liking how sensitive the bruise she had was.

"That's why you wear your seatbelt even when you're in the backseat," Karin scolded.

Karin had slammed hard on her breaks, having not noticed that the light had turned red. Ino's seatbelt tightened on her, bruising her chest and Sakura had been thrown forward, hitting the back of Ino's seat.

"Uh, is that cop staring at us?" Ino narrowed her eyes at a man standing a few stores away. He looked like an overly obvious undercover cop but the insignia on his sleeve completely gave him away. Sakura rolled her eyes. Uchiha.

"Not us. Just me," Sakura grumbled. She carried on with her business. She was there to shop with her friends and eat mall food. Sakura didn't care about Uchiha officers following Fugaku Uchiha's orders.

"They watch you even when you're _not_ with Sasuke?" Ino's jaw dropped in disbelief. She shook her head and pulled on Sakura's elbow, dragging her into the nearest clothing store.

"Worst Parent Award definitely goes to Sasuke's dad. And mine left as soon as my mom got too sick to take care of me so...yeah." Karin sneered at a rack of clothing. "It's winter. Why the _fuck_ are they selling crop tops?"

Ino opened her mouth to say something but one look from Sakura had her closing it. Karin had a habit of dropping uncomfortable statements nonchalantly about subjects she hadn't discussed with them yet. Sakura realized it was how she opened up to them, just talk about things casually like they already knew what she was talking about and let them piece together what they could. There would be no sitting around with a tub of ice cream and having big talks that led to hugging and crying with Karin Uzumaki.

"Here. This is your shade of purple." Karin tossed a crop top at Ino. "And just your length of top too."

"I just want to know what's his fucking problem," Ino growled, tossing a similar top in a lighter purple shade at Karin who tugged at the hem trying to see how far she could stretch it out closer to her belly button. She glared at the sleeves and put it back on the rack. "What's the big issue?"

"I don't think there's a specific problem." Sakura held up a sheer long sleeved top to Karin who shook her head furiously. "Everything was fine until I started to develop these." Sakura put her hands to her breasts and lifted them up and dropped them.

"Oh. He's one of _those_." Ino frowned. "Like that Shino kid's mom."

"Shino? Shino Aburame?" Sakura questioned. He was a student that had been in all of her Science classes for all of high school. He hung out with Naruto's friend Kiba and was really quiet.

"We had to do a project for English once in tenth grade and his mom wouldn't let us go into his room alone where his computer was. We had to wait for his dad to come home and let him use his work laptop so that we could sit in the dining room where his mother could keep an eye on us from the kitchen. It was weird because it's not like Shino cares about talking to any girl except Fu in the Entomology Club. And that's not even of the romantic nature. I think he just gave up on girls since his mom is so traditional and strict. Doesn't believe in people of the opposite sex being friends."

"Well that's backwards." Karin held up a sleeveless turtle neck black dress. Sakura thought she was going to put it back but it was apparently cute enough to ignore the lack of sleeves. "And keeping kids separated from the opposite gender never works. It either screws them up socially or they go at it like a pair of baby monkeys anyway, you know, like Sakura and Sasuke."

"We do _not_ go at it like a pair of baby monkeys," Sakura said hotly, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I'll have you know today was the first time we had sex in almost a month, thank you. We have self control."

Karin and Ino stared at her for a moment in silence before the pair of them burst out laughing. Sakura glared at them and waited for them to finish.

"Have you told Sasuke about the cops stalking you?" Karin asked being the one to compose herself first. Ino kept giggling in little hiccups.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure this is something you should talk to him about," Ino instantly became serious. "My dad works sometimes with the police force when they need a psychologist. He could talk to Fugaku if you want. I'm sure he wouldn't wanna hear about the police force keeping track of a kid just because Fugaku didn't want his son interacting with them. It's not like you're a fuck up. You're an Honor Roll student that volunteers at the hospital. Hell, my parents would be _bragging_ if you were my girlfriend."

"They wouldn't care about the girl part?" Karin raised an eyebrow at Ino.

"My parents thought Sai was a girl at first to be honest. He's too pretty."

"The height didn't give him away?"

"He's tall but he's not too tall. He's only like five foot eight. There's plenty of girls taller than him."

"What girls?"

"Well, _anyway_ ," Sakura steered the conversation away from Ino's boyfriend. "No. No one's talking to anyone. I don't want to cause Sasuke any trouble. And if I tell him anything it won't end well. It was pretty bad after their fight when he first wanted to transfer from Oto in ninth grade. It will probably be worse this time. So I can't bother him with my problems."

"Oh my precious Saint Sakura," Ino exclaimed dramatically as she threw her arms around her shoulders and patted her head. "Too good, too pure for this world."

"Precious cinnamon roll?" Karin offered with a shrug.

"Yes!" Ino excitedly pointed at Karin in agreement.

"You guys aren't funny," Sakura mumbled trying to escape Ino's headlock.

"Oh you love us." Ino hooked her arm with Sakura's and the other with Karin and walked them deeper into the store.

* * *

Sakura sighed, powering off Sasuke's flat screen. She had come over with tomato bisque from her parent's shop knowing that Sasuke was used to having meals prepared for him by his mother or Itachi and would either starve or try to order take out anyway.

They were hanging out in his family's media room, just across from his bedroom and had curled up together. Sometime during the third movie Sasuke had sprawled out on top of her with his head on her chest. Sakura had cradled it, massaging her fingers through his hair. He fell asleep almost instantly after she began doing that.

"We need to come up with something better," Sakura mumbled, shifting her body carefully underneath Sasuke so that she could sleep comfortably.

Sasuke's lack of sleep worried Sakura. He did better during basketball season because practices were later in the day for varsity and he would run until he was exhausted and had to go to sleep but he wouldn't _stay_ asleep. She was already struggling to get him to eat properly. Karin was reporting to her how he wouldn't touch any food at school.

"Sakura," Sasuke mumbled out her name, adjusting his arms around her and taking a deep inhale. Sakura smiled softly knowing how calming he found her apple scent. It was one of the reasons she never tried other shower products.

"Come on, love. Off to bed."

"Are you going to stay tonight? You can stay if you want."

"I want to." Sakura nudged him gently until he sat up. "But I think your bed is better for sleep than this couch."

Sakura stood up and held out her hand for Sasuke. He took it and let her lead him to his bedroom. The same way she did the first night Sasuke was alone in the big Uchiha house two years ago.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _**I'm taller than Sai. I'm actually Naruto's adult height. I'm almost as tall as Sasuke as an adult.**_

 _ **I wanted this out earlier but I had to go back and delete two entire pages and rewrite everything because I realized that what I was talking about needed to be in a Sasuke or Itachi chapter.**_

 _ **Next chapter will be an Itachi chapter but I'm not set on it only being an Itachi chapter so there may be a Sasuke POV in it. Definitely a flashback again.**_

 _ **There is a likely chance of there being a Naruto POV but probably not a whole chapter. I wanted one but it was mostly flashback. So still debating that.**_

 _ **By the way, my dad is one of those parents I'm talking about. And so was my ex's mom. Kind of why we had to make our own "Kingdom For Two" in the first place.**_

So I made a thing. I have a reference I use for the Uchiha house and I have it available on my tumblr blog if anyone wants to see it. Ignore the random shapes that's again for my reference lol it just sort of gives you a look at the outline of the house and where all the rooms are at.

My tumblr url is **pain-somnia** you can find the reference under the tag **kingdom for two** or **kft ref**. I'm not writing out the link because in my experience links don't work on FanFiction. I don't think they're suppose to?

 _ **Oh! So I'm excited for SasuSaku Month. It's actually my first year in the fandom because I never use to get involved at all with any fandoms. I might do some one-shots based on the prompts but I won't be doing every single day. But I'm most likely going to make sculptures for some prompts. I haven't drawn in a long time but I feel comfortable sculpting so I'm kind of excited to work on that. If I do write one-shots I will also post them here on FanFiction.**_

 _ **Next chapter should be out really soon. I'm pumped and motivated to write an Itachi chapter.**_


	11. ASSWJAFR (I like long titles by FOB)

**Chapter Eleven: All Storms Start With Just A Few Raindrops**

Rain. Itachi had a love-hate relationship with rain. He used to look forward to nice rainy days so he could curl up in his rocking chair and read one of the books from the small library that doubled as his father's study across from his room. It relaxed him to hear the pattering of rain against his window and its drumming on the deck outside of his and Sasuke's room.

Nowadays he could feel the rain before he knew it was going to rain. His joints would ache and there would be a soreness all over his body. And he had an odd craving for soup. Rainy days, no matter what the season and temperature outside, became soup days.

It was likely that his mother was going to make hot tofu soup for dinner. She was starting to pick up on his habits and quirks very well lately. That was new for him considering when he and Sasuke were younger his mother wasn't as aware of him. She focused more of her attention on Sasuke and was always making his favorites, especially on days he came back with test scores or some award from school. Sasuke was her favorite. Mikoto would _never_ make it obvious but Itachi could tell that Sasuke was her favorite. And he didn't mind. Sasuke was his favorite too.

Which is how he knew that even though he was going to get the soup that he craved, that the hot tofu soup was going to be at a degree of spiciness that he didn't eat before. Funny thing about growing up and one's body changing due to illness and medications that no one had explained to Itachi before was the change in his tastebuds. Someone in a support group he attended had told him that it was taste perversion and that it happened to some people.

He still loved sweets but he now preferred his savory foods to lean more to the spicy side. It had a lot to do with "medicine mouth" and the horrible metallic and bitter after taste of pills. Sadly, sugar didn't help the taste in his mouth so he had to cut back on sweets or be left with the horrible taste in his mouth all day.

"I don't think I'm reading this right." Itachi pulled his book at arm's length, as if a different angle would give him a better understanding. Sighing, Itachi rose from his chair with a groan and headed to the library hoping to find the Japanese to English dictionary.

Although Konoha was also known as J-Town due to a majority of the population being of Japanese descent and all of the Japanese shops, Itachi still had some trouble with the language. He could speak fluently─his grandparents on both sides refused to speak English─but reading and writing still came with some issues.

"Where the...Sasuke." Itachi shook his head and headed over to Sasuke's room. Although Sasuke wasn't one to read Japanese literature for fun the way Itachi did, he still used the dictionary quite often. When Itachi asked why, Sasuke had muttered something about translating song lyrics.

Itachi knocked on the door and waited for an answer. He was about to knock again, harder, when he realized that Sasuke wasn't home because he still had basketball practice during winter break and not in his room. Itachi huffed in frustration, not happy that he had another brain fog moment. It happened often due to being fatigued most of the time.

Feeling guilty for the invasion of privacy, Itachi muttered a small apology and entered Sasuke's room. Itachi usually didn't enter and it always amazed him how different their two rooms were.

Itachi liked the minimalist look and barely had furniture in his room or personal effects. If he were to add anything to his room, perhaps a bookcase which would be pointless considering his books were kept in the library and his DVD collection in the media room.

Sasuke was the opposite. Itachi smiled to himself loving the feel of Sasuke's room. It looked exactly like what he thought a teenage boy's room was supposed to look like. Band and movie posters all over the walls. A tapestry of a snake and hawk fighting on one wall. Around his headboard were a bunch of photos of different places and his friends. A majority of them were blurry selfies of Naruto and focused shots of what was going on behind him, usually Sakura looking angry because Naruto was sneaking a photo of her. Itachi shook his head when he saw the carved Uchiha family crest on the lower corner of the headboard. Probably done in a fit of boredom.

Unlike Itachi, Sasuke did have a bookcase in his room. It was a wide set up, two narrow bookcases flanking the sides of one wider bookcase that had the top three shelves knocked out and a mirror installed. Sasuke not only had books on the shelves but stacks upon stacks of CDs and ninja and creature figurines gifted to him mostly from Naruto who went to conventions often. Sitting next to his old dinosaur stuffed toy was a fox plushie that looked just like the mascot costume Naruto wore during the winter sports season. Sasuke had griped about the gift when Naruto had given it to him when Sasuke transferred to Konoha Secondary but there it was, sitting on the shelf.

Itachi gently ran a finger on the body of Sasuke's acoustic guitar, hanging on a hook on the wall. When Sasuke showed a talent for music when he was younger Itachi had been proud. He started with the flute and then piano and made his way to teaching himself how to play guitar. Itachi had never been good at playing any instruments and it made him warm inside to know there was something Sasuke could do, and do really well, that he could never touch.

Not that Sasuke played often anymore. After Sasuke had transferred, their father had become stricter about his grades. Sasuke would casually strum sometimes but he no longer wasted away afternoons learning songs he loved or try to write his own.

"I'm here for a dictionary," Itachi reminded himself. The amount of time he was spending in his brother's room when Sasuke wasn't there was bordering on inappropriate. He got caught up in looking at all of Sasuke's stuff, all of the things that proved that Sasuke was just a normal high school aged boy and not a robot that churned out high test scores and followed every order of their father's.

Sasuke's computer desk was much like his own when it came to neatness. The only difference being that Sasuke's was made out of metal and covered in stickers, reminding Itachi of a bar that Sasuke had asked him to take him to when he was fifteen for a rock concert. It wasn't the kind of thing Itachi liked, not a big music fan even though he enjoyed listening to music, but it was something Sasuke wanted to go to that their father would have never approved of which was partially why Itachi had agreed to taking him in the first place.

"Where could he possibly have left it?" Itachi tapped a finger to his lip and then smacked his forehead. He pulled open the drawer of Sasuke's night stand and found a silver lighter gifted from their grandfather, some more photos of Sasuke with Sakura and Naruto, pens, guitar picks and strings, sheet music, and the dictionary he was looking for. Itachi raised an eyebrow at the scented candles grouped on top of the nightstand and muttered a small prayer, hoping that they were suppose to be therapeutic and not for setting up a mood for Sakura.

"Why does he need a record player and all of this vinyl if he has like a million CDs? And he has an iPod. This boy I swear..." Itachi was surprised at how clean and orderly Sasuke's room was considering all of the stuff that he had. Itachi shrugged and rolled his eyes. He preferred his bare room with only the essentials.

The door swung open and Itachi almost jumped. The last thing he wanted was Sasuke to be angry with him for entering his room without permission.

"Itachi?"

"Father?"

Itachi tilted his slightly in confusion and raised his eyebrow. It was pretty early for his father to be home and even odder for him to be in Sasuke's room.

"What are you doing in here?"

"I needed to grab the dictionary." Itachi waved the book so his father's eyes would be drawn to the reason he had entered his little brother's room. "What are _you_ doing in here?"

"Don't use that tone with me," Fugaku snapped. He glared at Itachi who crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You may be an adult but I'm still your father, Itachi. Show some respect."

Fugaku crossed the room and pulled open the drawer to Sasuke's nightstand before Itachi could block him. His father rifled through the drawer and then closed it. Itachi watched as he went to Sasuke's personal restroom and looked under the sink in the cabinet and slid open the mirror to look at the medicine cabinet.

"You didn't move anything while you were in here did you?" Fugaku narrowed his eyes at Itachi.

"Just the dictionary." Itachi glared back, realization dawning on him. "That's really fucked up. And a total invasion of privacy."

"Language, Itachi. It's within my rights to makes sure my son isn't doing anything he isn't suppose to be doing."

"And what exactly are you looking for?" Itachi felt nauseous. Luckily there was no chance of Fugaku finding a baggie full of ritalin or condoms. Itachi was sure Sasuke was too smart to leave anything lying around that he didn't want found.

"It's none of your concern." And with that Fugaku left the room.

And not for the first time, Itachi felt defeated, knowing with how his body was that he couldn't move out and take Sasuke far, far away.

* * *

"Hand me a rubber band." Itachi held out his hand in front of Izumi so that she could drop a tiny rubber band into his palm. "I'm almost done."

"You did a good job," Shisui mumbled through the popcorn in his mouth.

The two of them had come over to have dinner and they were all waiting for Sasuke to come home. While they waited they watched TV in the media room and Itachi french braided Izumi's hair.

"He's getting better at it isn't he?" Izumi admired her braids using her cell phone's front facing camera. "You're completely spoiling your appetite, Shi."

"I'm a grown man. Stop treating me like a child." Shisui tossed a scoop of popcorn at her and Izumi smacked him in the face with a pillow.

"You're cleaning that Sui-Sui." Itachi huffed, stretching his back. He had sat still for too long. "Zu-Zu?"

"Lie down and I'll go get the cream, okay?" Izumi kissed his forehead and left the room to go get his pain relieving creams from his bathroom cabinet.

"My dad is searching Sasuke's room whenever Sasuke isn't home," Itachi told Shisui when Izumi left.

"I caught Taiko stalking Itty Bitty." Shisui gave Itachi a grim look.

"What did you do?"

"I kicked his ass of course. Told him I thought he was a suspicious character because he was following a schoolgirl around. Told him if I found out he was doing it again that I would report him. Inabi and Tekka wouldn't like hearing about it. That's something I expected of Yakumi considering how loyal he is to Fugaku."

"No. Taiko is young and stupid enough to do something like that. Yakumi would have considered it grunt work and below him. Plus he's middle aged and that would have looked creepier."

"Who do you think would be more pissed if they found out? Sasuke or Izumi?"

Izumi had always had a soft spot for Sakura Haruno. She loved to play with her hair when she was a toddler and would always play with her and help her swim when the kids hung out in the Uchiha's backyard. Itachi thought it was cute considering Sasuke would never let Izumi play with him but would then get jealous when Izumi took Sakura away. Izumi was an only child like Sakura, so she sort of adopted her as her younger sister when they were children.

"Are you kidding me? My _mother_ would be the most pissed off. We need to find a way to stop it before she finds out. She's already pissed off because my father tried to find out what goes on during Sasuke's therapy sessions. She hasn't spoken to him directly in the past two days."

"Things have been getting bad ever since the Oto incident haven't they?" Shisui took Itachi's hand in his and rubbed the top of it.

"Are you guys flirting without me?" Izumi came bounding in with the creams and a tiny paper cup and some water. "I just noticed that it's time for you medication."

"Just noticed or did the alarm on your phone go off?" Shisui teased her. Izumi ignored him and began massaging Itachi's back with the cream. Shisui grabbed the bottle and examined it. "This is new. Did they change your lotion at the Pain Management Clinic?"

"Just slightly. And this one warms up when you apply it."

"You know what you need? Weed."

"Shisui, you're a cop!" Izumi scolded him. Itachi was starting to feel sleepy from the massage she was giving him. Shisui started snickering when Itachi hummed contently.

"That good? Maybe Izumi should give me a massage too." Shisui waggled his eyebrows at her and she pushed him hard on his shoulder.

"My friend works as a masseuse at the chiropractor's office and he's been giving me some lessons."

"He? Should Itachi and I be worried?" Shisui raised an eyebrow and put his hands on his hip, smiling as he gave her a playful glare.

"Oh, shut up."

"Kids! Time for dinner!" Mikoto's voice rang up the stairs.

"Did she just call us kids?" Shisui gave his partners an incredulous look.

"We're kids to her." Izumi rolled her eyes and pulled Itachi's shirt back down. "I'm going to go wash my hands and put everything away. Shisui you need to clean this mess up before Mamakoto sees it."

"I'll just blame the brat."

"No you won't," Sasuke called out as he entered his room.

"He didn't even make any noise as he came up the stairs." Shisui gave an exaggerated shiver. "Your brother gets creepier every day."

"He needs a haircut. You think he'll let me practice on him?" Izumi asked Itachi who shook his head. "Figures. I haven't found anyone to practice on outside of class."

"I'm sure my mother wouldn't mind helping you. She adores you."

"She loves everyone," Izumi laughed.

"That's about to not be true anymore," Shisui muttered under his breath as they waited for Izumi and then followed her down the stairs. Itachi elbowed him in the ribs and shook his head.

Itachi almost ran into Izumi on their way into the kitchen. She had stopped at the doorway and started to edge backward.

"What are you doing?" Shisui grumbled.

"Just go the other way around," Izumi hissed, pushing him against his back. Shisui get griping all of the way to the breakfast room.

Itachi peeked into the kitchen and saw his mother giggling, feeding his bashful father gyoza. There was a pang in his chest and his eyes turned downcast as he shuffled through the great room to the breakfast room.

Seeing his mother happy and his father shy over affection was something he rarely saw anymore. Not since he was hospitalized.

* * *

Sasuke sighed, trying to relax. The cinnamon vanilla candle smelled like Sakura's body wash and lotions but it wasn't as comforting as her shampoo and conditioner apple smell. Sakura had bought the candles from the same shop she bought her bath products from but she disliked the one that mimicked her shampoo because she personally thought it smelled gross as a candle

" _Try to relax before bed. Take a nice hot bath, sleep on freshly laundered sheets, listen to some music, and light a candle. I kind of like the mango cilantro one best."_

Sakura's advice helped ease his body to a level of comfort that resembled how he felt in the morning before he had to force himself to move. But he was still finding it slightly hard to fall asleep.

" _Over thinking things before bed can make it harder to sleep,"_ Dr. Yamanaka had informed him once. Sasuke had just deadpanned at the time wondering why his mother was paying for sessions if that was what he was going to be getting out of them.

 _The quarter is ending soon. If I get at least a ninety-three on my next Physics test I can finish off with an A minus and my first semester grade should round up to an A_.

Sasuke groaned and wiped his hands down his face. School was probably not the best thing to think about when he was trying to fall asleep. Now all he could think about was trying to calculate what grades he should have for all of his classes when the first semester ended.

Sasuke focused on the rain drops against his window and closed his eyes. In his head flowed a scrolling music staff and the notes to Prelude Op. 28, No. 15 showed up. He shook his head, not wanting to think about something so cliché.

Sasuke settled for focusing on the song playing gently from his speakers and inhaled deeply, taking in the cinnamon vanilla smell.

 _There's twenty-four parts in a day that divides me...from you…_

Sasuke snorted. It would be typical that this song would play, especially on a rainy day. The similar smell of Sakura's lotion wasn't helping. Sasuke breathed in and let out a slow exhale. If he was going to think about anything, the feel of brushing his nose against Sakura's inner thigh was way better than his Physics class. He brushed his fingers lightly over his lower stomach, summoning the sound of Sakura's whimpers as he nipped at her soft, fleshy thighs in his mind.

 _First we were water…_

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke inhaled a sharp intake of air as Itachi's voice came through muffled from his bedroom door. There was a light knock and Sasuke turned on his side, slightly panicked.

 _What the fuck was I about to do!?_

"Come in!" He groaned inwardly at how his voice came out in an awkward squeak.

Itachi came in, closing the door behind him. He sat on the edge of the bed and Sasuke scooted back, worried that his brother would discover his growing problem.

"I like this song," Itachi commented with a slight nod of his head. "It's relaxing."

"It's called Creation Lake," Sasuke said after clearing his throat. _Yeah,_ real _relaxing_.

"I wanted to check on you. You were really quiet at dinner." Itachi patted Sasuke's head, stroking his hair. It was an oddly nostalgic gesture, something Itachi stopped doing after Sasuke shot past him in height.

"I'm always quiet at dinner."

"Yeah, but not like today. Did you have a rough day at practice?"

"Sort of." His shooting was completely off. Sasuke was in a low mood ever since his family came back from their trip.

"Don't let it get to you. You're probably just overworked." Itachi ruffled his hair and stood up. "Don't leave this candle on all night. Good night."

"G'night, Itachi."

As soon as Itachi left Sasuke flipped onto his back, throwing an arm over his face. That had been the most uncomfortable few seconds in his brother's presence that he had ever been in and now he was thinking about his sucky day at practice.

He repeated what he did before his brother had come into his room and inhaled deeply, focusing on the new song that was playing. Now his mind conjured an image of Sakura with her hair all fanned out on his pillow, giggling softly as she sang along.

" _All I wanted was you…"_

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _**does anyone remember the fanart of Sasuke playing the flute. I thought it was the cutest thing. I also have a thing for dudes that can play the guitar and are really into music lol**_

 _ **So I wanted to focus on Itachi's daily life but I started to feel all sentimental because my little sister is graduating high school in a week. I actually get really emotional because I never thought I would be around for this day and I can't believe she's eighteen and going off to college in the fall and it's so weird because she's always needed me and I was like her third parent (I did most of the work in taking care of her tbh and I'm the only real relief from how harsh my dad can be and I try to do as much as I can even though I'm kind of useless at this point) but I got sick and there was a role reversal and I needed her more than she needed me. And looking at all of her baby photos and soccer trophies have me feeling all sad but also happy, 'cause like I said I can't believe I'm here for this part of her life. So that's kind of where Itachi's chapter went to, I just made it their version of what's going on with me and my baby sister.**_

 _ **Also, that's not a typo, Izumi really did call Mikoto "Mamakoto". Another thing from my life since my friends call my mother Mama Gladis.**_

 _ **So I took more inspiration from my town and called Konoha J-Town or Japantown because I live in Koreatown (I shit you not that's the alternative name for where I live given mainly by D.C. natives which is weird considering we're not that close to D.C. it's still a drive─15 to 20 minute drive to possibly AN HOUR depending on traffic, DMV area drivers are the worst─and a long trip on the subway and then a bus ride). Our population is mostly Asian and Latino but we're still pretty diverse over here.**_

 _ **Music is my lifeblood. No for real, I even have a tattoo of a music staff that turns into an electrocardiogram (the line that tracks your heart on a heart monitor). So I couldn't resist making Sasuke so music obsessed lol**_

 _ **Prelude Op. 28, No. 15 is also known as Raindrops it's by Chopin if you want to look it up.**_

 _ **The songs Sasuke is listening to are Creation Lake by Silversun Pickups and All I Wanted by Paramore. I wanted him to have very diverse music taste with a preference for the rock genre and it's many sub-categories.**_

 _ **I'm actually really into thinking up playlists and stuff so I'll probably make a playlist and put it under the kft ref tag so if y'all wanted to see that. Probably what I'm going to work on tomorrow when I'm bored at work lol**_

 _ **I've been having lots of brain fog lately but for readers of TPOAM there will be a chapter out by Saturday. Same goes for KFT.**_


	12. Act 5, Scene 1

**Chapter Twelve: Act 5, Scene 1**

When Sakura was younger, one of her favorite things was tracing the ink cherry blossoms on her father's arms. She marveled at the way the branches of the cherry blossom trees wrapped around his arms and the way the flower petals danced across his skin. He carried Spring with him all year round.

" _I thought your father was walking art. Everyone was always trying to make a statement back then. I thought there was a deeper meaning to all of those tattoos considering he used so much of his body for them,"_ Mebuki had once told a giggling Sakura as she tucked her into bed. " _Turns out that he was just a goof that really liked soft things like flowers."_

Kizashi Haruno was the softest punk Sakura ever met or saw. He was a big man, tall and burly, yet very gentle and liked to bake cakes and give free coffee and scones to stressed out looking students. He made awful dad jokes that according to her mother he had been making since he was nineteen when she met him.

" _He use to follow me around trying to get me to go out with him and he scared all of my friends. He was already so tall and he wore his hair in those spikes."_ Mebuki used her hands to create a point at the top of her head.

" _Papa's not scary."_ Six year old Sakura frowned. " _He's silly."_

" _Yes, he's very silly. But he's all mine. And yours too."_

Kizashi was all Sakura's and except for the rough patch when she was a pre-teen, she loved every part of him. And no one was going to mess with him.

"Let go of me!" The man Sakura had in a headlock grunted.

"Hand over all of the bread you pocketed and I'll let you go." Sakura tightened her hold.

In the bakery part of the café, the Haruno's had baskets of different packaged treats like cookies and brownies and scones. Some of their more popular packaged goods were different small breads filled with things like red bean paste or coffee cream. The sort of thing no one would actually try to steal normally, especially since Kizashi offered a Soup Of The Day which was a free cup of soup for anyone that asked, you just had to deal with the fact that it was a vegetarian dish.

It was something mostly latchkey kids that didn't want to go home yet took advantage of and Kizashi usually included pieces of baguettes or rolls. Regular patrons usually left money in the tip jar at the register to help cover the cost of the free meals.

Which made the act of thieving even more reprehensible.

"Jesus Christ, lady." Sakura was a petite woman but very strong. Izumi Uchiha had even taken it upon herself to teach Sakura self-defense when she was younger.

" _You're super cute and you need to be able to protect yourself from creeps. Naruto and Sasuke aren't always going to be there."_

"Sakura, let him go. It's only bread." Kizashi's voice was soft and gentle instead of it's usual loud and jolly tone. He placed a hand on her shoulder and Sakura's eyes narrowed in frustration. Her father was too nice for his own good.

"Hand over the bread and don't come back. Ever. We will call the authorities next time," Mebuki said sternly and extended her hands to receive the sweet breads. The young man dropped all of the breads he pocketed in her hands. As soon as Sakura released him he ran out the door, the chime tinkling aggressively from the force it was opened with.

"Papa!" Sakura followed her father into the kitchen. Marco, the boy in his early twenties that helped out in the kitchen, quickly headed into the walk-in freezer and hid inside.

"Weren't you supposed to be done with your shift already, blossom?" Kizashi carried on with food prep casually, as if nothing had happened. "Don't you want to go home and get ready for that party you're going to tonight?"

"Papa." Sakura frowned at her father. He chuckled and tweaked her nose.

"You look like your mother when you do that."

" _Papa_." Sakura gave him a stern look and pulled away the kale he was chopping up for a salad. Kizashi tried to scold her for putting her hand so close to a knife in use but she cut him off. "You shouldn't be so easy on people like that. That's how you get taken advantage of."

"It's the holidays, Sakura. And you don't know if maybe he really needed it."

Sakura shook her head, the frustration giving her a headache. Sometimes Sakura wished her father was one of those in-your-face-take-no-shit type of punks. No, her father was a pleasant and friendly vegetarian that needed to be the father of the community. Sakura wondered sometimes if maybe Kizashi would have been mayor if he had the ambition for it instead of Minato Namikaze. He was a smart man and well liked by the people of the town but he didn't care for politics. Or authority figures.

Which explained why he and Fugaku Uchiha couldn't seem to get along. That and how they disagreed on how children should be raised.

"Come on. Get going." Kizashi took his bundle of kale back. "It's New Year's Eve and you already agreed to go and have fun with your friends. Don't make me get your mother."

Kizashi gave Sakura a mock glare and waved a finger in front of her face. Sakura sighed and untied her apron and hung it on it's hook. She headed behind the counter to say goodbye to her mother.

"That was uncouth, Sakura." Mebuki didn't even bother to look up as she prepared the coffee maker.

"He deserved it."

"Well, _yes_ , of course he did," Mebuki rolled her eyes and then sighed in defeat. "Aren't you going to go and have fun? Remember, I would rather you not drink at all but if you or your friends do drink I would rather have a phone call from my inebriated child needing a ride home at whatever hour of the night than a call from a cop with bad news."

"Yes, Mama." Sakura kissed her mother on the cheek. "I know better."

"Be safe," Mebuki said sternly. She tried to keep a serious expression on her face but she broke out into a gentle smile. "And have fun. Please?"

"Yes, Mama. I'm going now."

* * *

Sakura tried really hard not to snort out her hot chocolate but Ino was making it really difficult. Every time a guy tried to give any of them a flirty look and call them over Ino would pantomime throwing up or make a disgusted face.

"You don't hold back at all do you?" Karin smirked, blowing out a long train of smoke. Sakura had given up on getting her to stop smoking after Karin attempted to bite her.

"It's really cold out here. Can we _please_ go inside?" Sakura was shivering and no matter how close she got to the bonfire she couldn't warm up.

"No," Karin said firmly.

"You're going to have to face him sooner or later." Ino wrapped her arms around Sakura and tried to share her body warmth. Sakura curled into her, trying her hardest not to rest her head on Ino's chest so much.

"How about never?"

"He's playing beer pong with Naruto and is extremely distracted. I'm sure Sui won't even notice us."

"Don't call him that," Karin snapped at Sakura. "It will only encourage him to be even flirtier."

"Well, we're tired of freezing our asses out here. Come on, Sakura. Let's go find Sai. Hopefully he's not drunk painting again. Kiba was _not_ happy with what he drew on his wall last party."

Ino took Sakura by the hand and led her into the crowded kitchen from the back door, making sure to hold on tight so she wouldn't lose her.

"You're not being a good Party Mom, Ino. We shouldn't leave her alone."

"Pfft! She'll be fine. This is their foreplay. They get in a fight at the start of every party and then the girl ditches me to go fuck him in whatever room is available. You would know these things if you came to more parties."

"You know, you could leave me to my own devices and hang out with Sai. He's probably face down somewhere right now. He gets so weird when drunk."

"He'll be fine. I have Shika and Chouji watching him." Ino tugged hard, steering Sakura into another room and used her other hand to slap at a random guy that tried to reach for Sakura's arm. "Besides, I'm more worried about what _your_ boyfriend would do if he found out I left you alone all night. Too bad he couldn't come."

"Yeah, too bad."

Sasuke didn't really go to parties anymore and even if he did let himself be dragged to one he wouldn't have been able to go to the one tonight. His family always had a party on New Year's Eve. Sakura and Naruto use to go to them every year to keep him company but that was when the Harunos use to be invited to the Uchiha party and Naruto was dragged along with his parents.

Sakura found it strange to call it a party. It was more like a dinner party and everyone had to dress up for them. Sakura and Sasuke usually spent the night keeping Naruto in order and in his formal clothes so that he wouldn't get in trouble with Kushina.

Sakura tried to have fun and dance with Ino. It was working considering Ino was a huge goofball and kept twirling her around and making funny faces. She had been right about Karin. They found her later sneaking up the stairs with Suigetsu. Sakura was confused as to how their relationship was so secret if they were so open at public events.

"I want to head home now," Sakura giggled. Ino had started ruffling her hair as they swayed their bodies to the music.

"You don't want to stay for the countdown? It's in like forty-five minutes." Ino checked her phone for the time. "Forty. Close enough."

"There's somewhere I wanna be at midnight."

"With Sasuke?" Sakura looked up and saw a tipsy Naruto making his way over. He frowned at her and rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't think anyone here is sober enough to drive. You should just stay here."

"Not true!" Ino chirped. She wheeled Sakura away from Naruto and toward the door. "Shika's sober. You know he doesn't drink. He thinks drinking is troublesome and not as fun as we all make it out to be."

"What are you dragging me into now, woman?" Shikamaru sighed as he rose from the couch closest to the exit. Even though he made a face as if he were annoyed he grabbed his coat and checked his pockets for his car keys.

"You need to go home, squirt?" Temari, Shikamaru's girlfriend who was visiting during the holidays, joined them as they walked out to the street looking for his car. "Aren't you too old for a curfew?"

"I'm just tired. And I have someone waiting for me at home."

"Ah. Alright. We'll drop you off and then come back for Ino and Company," Temari offered without consulting Shikamaru. He just kept his mouth shut like he was use to it.

"I knew I loved you." Ino wrapped her arms around Temari's shoulders and squeezed. "Shika would usually just go straight home and leave me and Chouji to fend for ourselves or get Sai's brother Shin to pick us up."

"Yeah, I know. He can be an ass like that."

"The ass can hear you, you know," Shikamaru called out. He had walked ahead of them when he found his car.

"Thank you Shikamaru," Ino and Sakura chorused. "We love you Shikamaru."

"Yeah, yeah."

"She better get home safe, Shika," Ino warned him, pulling Sakura into a hug. "See you next year."

"See you next year, you goof," Sakura giggled.

* * *

Sakura carefully made her way through her backyard, lifting her knees high to avoid the bags of leaves that had been raked earlier. She smiled knowing that Mikoto had probably asked Sasuke to help out. She was always doing stuff like that, trying to help out when she noticed that Sakura's parents were really busy. Mikoto would probably have come over to help with the annual intense cleaning if she could. Sakura already took over the task for the past few days, cleaning up the Haruno home all alone because her parents wouldn't take off until after tonight and then go back to work on the third.

Sakura didn't want to waste her parents days off by spending them cleaning.

Sakura reached the iron wrought fence that separated her yard from the Uchiha's and grabbed one of the bars. It was icy to the touch but a warm hand covered hers and then lifted it off the bar so that it could interlock their fingers.

"Did anyone notice you leave?" Sakura asked Sasuke. He shook his head and tightened his grip on her hand. "It's almost time for the countdown."

"I'm practically invisible at these things, especially when Naruto doesn't come." There was an odd slur to his words. Sakura sniffed and there was a smell of alcohol.

"Have you been drinking?"

"Yeah. Shisui got me some rum. He's awesome."

"Rum? Great. My boyfriend's a pirate." Sakura gave him a cheeky grin. "And you are _drunk_."

"No I'm not."

"You just said that Shisui's awesome."

"Shit. I am drunk."

Sakura giggled and reached her hand through the fence to pull at Sasuke's tie. He wore a red and black plaid patterned button down dress shirt with a skinny black tie under a black cable knit cardigan. He had a gray and white marbled thick wool scarf wrapped around his neck.

"You look dapper."

"You look cold."

Sakura had left her coat open to reveal her thin, shimmery red v-neck sweater dress and her stockings. It wasn't the warmest outfit but it was pretty and she wanted to look nice when she met Sasuke. It wasn't often that she dressed up and Ino had dolled her up for the party.

"Yeah, but I look cute." Sakura winked at him and Sasuke rolled his eyes. He pulled his scarf off and wrapped it around her as best as he could through the fence.

"You're cuter when you're warm." Sasuke's voice became lower and huskier. "But yeah, super cute. Really. Cute. Always cute." Sakura flushed pink. Sasuke was always more likely to flirt with her when he was drunk. Being inebriated had him dropping his guard.

"This kind of reminds me of a Shakespeare play." Sakura grabbed onto a bar and shook it.

"Please don't say it reminds you of Romeo and Juliet. They died in that one."

"No, no." Sakura waved her other hand in front of her face in protest. "The comedy with the play within the play. Midsummer Night's Dream. The wall scene."

"Ah. That one."

"O Wall, full often hast thou heard my moans, for parting my fair Pyramus and me!" Sakura whispered dramatically. "My cherry lips have often kissed thy stones, thy stones with lime and hair knit up in thee."

Sasuke's eyes squinted and he looked up at the sky, trying to remember the next line in his inebriated state.

"I see a voice? I think that's how it goes. Now will I to the chink, to spy and I can hear my Thisbe's face. Why the fuck is it hear her face? Thisbe?"

"Very good," Sakura laughed. "My love thou art, my love, I think."

"Think what thou wilt, I am thy lover's grace? That's it right? And like Lim-something am I trusty still."

"The next line is awful. Helen of Troy is the most famous adulterer. I guess that's supposed to be funny through irony or something."

"Yeah and I'm sure Lim-whatever didn't love her anyway. Blah, blah, blah. Oh, kiss me through the hole of this vile wall."

"I kiss the wall's hole, not your lips at all," Sakura whispered back, eyes downcast. She wanted him to come over but it was likely that someone would wonder where he was soon.

"Hey." Sasuke tipped her chin up and through the space in the fencing kissed her. The icy bars stung her cheeks and his tongue was coated in rum but his mouth was warm and soft. Sasuke's hand snuck through the bar and he held onto her hip. "Fuck this fence."

"I can't wait until we're back in school and I can see you all I want without this stupid fence in the way." Sakura pressed her forehead against the bars and pouted when Sasuke mimicked the action. She felt more of the cold metal than Sasuke's skin. "Do you think it's gonna snow a lot this year?"

"I hope not. We can't walk on our roofs when it starts to get icy out."

The two of them stood there quietly, holding hands through the fence. The only sound was of the people inside counting off until the new year. There was a loud applause and cheers signaling midnight. Sakura pressed her face against the bars again and kissed Sasuke chastely on the lips.

"Happy New Year, love."

"Happy New Year, Sakura." Sasuke kissed her once more and then a second time before pulling away. "I should go. Itachi wanted to visit the shrine as soon as it was the new year instead of waiting until daylight. Hatsumōde and all."

"I probably won't go this year. Too many people came to take photos of the oh so exotic Japanese people last year. It pissed Ino off and she's not going."

"Why don't you come with us? There's room in Shisui's car for one more. And I'm sure Izumi would love to see you." Sasuke added the last part with a hint of distaste that made Sakura giggle.

"You guys go to Naka Shrine, right? Isn't that like a strictly Uchiha shrine."

"Nah. Izumi wanted to go somewhere else this year." Sasuke looked down at her thoughtfully for a moment. "Wait here for a moment."

Sakura watched Sasuke enter his home from the back porch. She stood by the fence, patiently waiting. A moment later Sasuke came back out, his mother following behind him.

"You're alone tonight, Sakura?" Mikoto gave her a worried look and then her eyes shifted to the house. The lights were still off because Sakura went straight to her backyard when she came home. "Your parents are still at the café?"

"They stay open later on New Year's Eve. Gives people a place to go that's not a bar."

"That's not good. You should have come over then. Shame on you Sasuke for not telling me until now." Mikoto lightly slapped Sasuke on the arm. Sakura giggled, loving how stern the petite woman was with her tall son. "The young people are heading off for the first shrine visit. You should go with them. No arguments."

Mikoto put a finger up to silence Sakura who had opened her mouth to protest. Sasuke gave her a lopsided grin from over his mother's head. If he had been sober Sakura was sure he would have smirked instead.

"They're getting ready to go. Go grab a hat and some gloves. That's a nice scarf. I think Sasuke has one like it."

Sasuke snorted and turned to leave. Mikoto shooed Sakura toward her house and followed her son back into the house. Sakura rolled her eyes and went to go do as she was told.

When Sakura met Sasuke and his brother in front of their house her jaw dropped when she saw the older Uchihas. The three of them were wearing full kimonos and Izumi even had a faux fur shawl around her shoulders.

"You guys really go all out." Sakura whistled. Shisui started posing for her which earned him a slap to the back of his head from Sasuke.

"This is for you Little One." Itachi handed Sakura a small envelope with a cherry blossom design. Sakura's eyes went wide and she tried to give it back but Itachi pulled his hands up away from her. "Nope. Take it. It's your otoshidama. Don't worry. I gave one to Sasuke and I have one for Naruto too."

"I forget how much of an old man he is sometimes," Izumi joked. "Just take the money. We should get going. I bet it's going to be crowded."

Izumi took a hold of Sakura's hand and led her to the car. Sasuke followed behind them grumbling. Sakura snickered, remembering how bad Sasuke was at sharing, especially with Izumi and Shisui.

* * *

Izumi was right to assume it would be crowded. The day crowd would be worse especially with the increase in culture tourists that would be taking in the sights.

"I'm going to get some charms." Izumi informed them all. "Especially for the students here. Come on you guys."

Izumi linked arms with Shisui and Itachi and dragged them away. Sasuke tried to follow them but lost them in the crowd.

"Be careful with him!" He cried out. Sakura put a hand on his arm and rubbed gently to calm him down. It was likely that he was going to shout at Izumi for dragging his brother away in a crowded place.

"He'll be fine. Let's get in line and hold their place."

"They better bring us some hot sake," Sasuke grumbled. He took Sakura's hand in his hand which made her eyes go wide. "Just making sure you don't get lost."

"Okay." Sakura nodded slowly. She didn't say a thing when Sasuke pulled her hand into his pocket. She just leaned closer into his body and closed her eyes as she laid her head against his arm.

They held hands, hidden in a crowd of hundreds.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _**so I ended up sleeping most of the weekend so the chapter ended up written later than Saturday. Whoops lol**_

 _ **I've decided that next chapter will be an Uzumaki POV chapter. Mostly from Naruto's POV and partial from Karin. After that there won't be another one for a while. A long while.**_

 _ **Kind of debating if I want a Mikoto POV. I will probably do one.**_

 _ **If you think Sasuke is too articulate while drunk and wondering why Mikoto didn't notice: my ex use to discuss philosophy and talk about different themes in his favorite literature. And except for being more smiley and giddy, most people wouldn't have noticed. In fact most people didn't.**_

 _ **The title is the part where you can find the lines that Sasuke and Sakura are reciting in Midsummer Night's Dream.**_

 _ **Next chapter will be out in a few days.**_


	13. Cherry Smiles

**Chapter Twelve: Cherry Smiles**

There was nothing better than Sakura's smile. For Naruto, seeing her smile was like basking in sunlight on a Summer's day. It was blazing and glorious but it wasn't her special smile.

It was the smile when she scored a point with a spike in volleyball. It was the smile when she beat him at Brawl or Mario Kart. It was the smile when she found one of the medical journals she was looking for at the bookstore. It was the smile when Ino and Sai made her laugh. It was her smile for everything.

But there was a smile of hers that was more gentle, a lighter pleasant warmth, like that of sunshine on a Spring day. It was his favorite smile of hers. There was only one way for Naruto to ever see it. He called it Sasuke's smile.

Usually Naruto ate in the senior courtyard during lunch. He would sit in one of the booths in the cafeteria during inclement weather which meant on days like today when it was snowing he wouldn't be in the courtyard because everyone else would be hiding out indoors. If the snow was already settled on the ground he could have convinced Kiba and Chouji to have a snowball fight with him.

Naruto wasn't in the mood to squeeze into a booth with everyone and then get into a fight when someone elbowed him causing him to spill his instant ramen. Ever since they set up the tank of hot water in the salad line in the beginning part of the year he had been bringing more cups to school. He use to have to bring ramen in a thermos and deal with that until he got home and had to sneak ramen behind his mother's back.

Normally, Naruto didn't go to the library but it was the one place he could go during his lunch block without a hall pass. He went for school work and he use to go when he was following Sakura around everywhere.

He avoided the library after the incident before their junior year for a while. It was Sakura's territory in his mind and he felt weird infringing on it the first few weeks after she had turned him down.

Naruto felt his upper thigh vibrate and pulled out his cell phone. The screen read that he had one new message from Hina.

 _ **It's snowing! (*^_^*)**_

Attached to the text was a picture of Hinata's bedroom window, a flurry of white falling all around. A second text popped up.

 _ **I heard you guys are getting released from school early. I have to finish my day. The joys of being home schooled (_ _")**_

Naruto smiled softly. Hinata was a lot more talkative through text. Sakura gave him simple responses and sometimes even forgot to text him back.

Naruto frowned to himself. He needed to stop doing that.

Ever since he first met Hinata at the veterinary office he worked at part-time, thanks to Kiba hooking him up with a job, he had been comparing the two girls. Hinata was a shy girl, like Sakura had been when they were much younger, and although she didn't speak much she still seemed sweet. And although she wasn't a stunning beauty, her round face was adorable even if it took a while to get use to her silvery eyes. It amused him when she would turn bright red, red as his mother's hair, when he squished her face between his hands, causing her round cheeks to distort her face.

If he did that to Sakura, she wouldn't blush. She would just get irritated at his actions and then they would play fight. Just enough for her to get her revenge but not enough for either of them to get injured.

Naruto thought they were flirting when they did that. He was wrong.

But he was use to it. To being wrong.

* * *

 _Roses. A dozen red roses, seemed only fitting. Everyone knew they were the flower of romantic love. Sakura was turning thirteen and he wanted to give her flowers since she loved them so much. She was always off with Ino learning about arrangements. Although it wasn't important to know their meanings for flower arrangements, Ino and Sakura learned as much as they could._

 _Sakura was becoming cuter and cuter and he wanted to show his feelings for her. Kushina said she would give him the money for the bouquet if he helped with chores around the house. He did them all with no complaints._

" _What are those?" Naruto asked rudely. Sasuke was standing next to Mikoto holding a bouquet of trumpet shaped flowers, wrapped up all pretty with green tulle and a white satin ribbon. "They look like the highway flowers. You know, the ones that grow everywhere, like in the medians on most streets, in the beginning of Spring."_

" _Don't be rude," Kushina snapped at him. Naruto winced at the harsh sound of his mother's voice and looked anywhere but at Sasuke. He knew his mother expected an apology but he wasn't going to give him one. Naruto was still upset that he took all the credit for helping Sakura when the thugs from_ his _school were the ones that attacked her._

 _Not that he actually took the credit, it was just him that got all of the thanks from Sakura. Naruto ignored the fact that Sasuke did in fact do most of the actual helping._

" _You're wearing your school uniform?" Naruto raised an eyebrow at Sasuke's white button shirt and black and purple trimmed sweater vest. The first time he saw Sasuke's purple necktie he had burst out laughing. Sasuke had punched him in the back of the head and they started wrestling._

" _I came straight from school, moron. It_ is _Monday."_

" _That's not how we talk to our friends, Sasuke," Mikoto scolded him, straightening out his collar. Naruto's eye twitched, realizing that no matter how dorky Oto's school uniform was, Sasuke still looked like one of those kids they chose to model clothes for fashion magazines._

 _But that didn't matter. Sakura was going to love his flowers way more than Sasuke's weird trumpet flowers that could be found literally popping out of every corner of town._

 _Mebuki Haruno opened the front door to the Haruno home and smiled brightly at the two boys. She stepped aside and let them all file into her home. They could hear Ino Yamanaka blowing gum bubbles in the kitchen as she gushed to Sakura about how pretty the cake her father had made her._

 _When they entered the kitchen, Sasuke hid his bouquet behind his back. Naruto smiled smugly to himself. He was sure Sasuke was now regretting his flower choice._

" _Wow, Sak. You look so cute." Naruto practically shouted when he saw Sakura. She had worn a new peter pan collar, light blue knee length dress to school under a soft white cardigan but he never got to say anything since it was the day they didn't share the same lunch block or had gym class. There was a matching bow in her hair, holding back her new short hair cut away from her face. Naruto ignored the fact that the hair ribbon in Sakura's hair looked like it was made of the same material and was the same color of the ribbon that Sasuke used to dress his bouquet._

" _Thank you," Ino said proudly. "The outfit was my birthday gift to Forehead. I also helped with makeup. You can't even see any bruises, right?"_

 _Naruto heard Mikoto gasp behind him. He was positive she wasn't sure how to respond to the strange nickname the blonde girl had used for Sakura or how easily she spoke about Sakura's still visible injuries. Sakura didn't react though so no one said anything._

" _Oh, right! For you!" Naruto thrust his roses into Sakura's arms. Ino giggled and nudged Sakura in the ribs which had Sakura hissing at her to stop._

" _Thanks, Naruto." Sakura beamed at him and handed the bouquet to her mother who had just finished fishing out a vase from one of the cupboards._

" _Sasuke. Give her yours." Mikoto pushed Sasuke forward. Naruto noticed the red tint to Sasuke's ears and had to hold back from laughing in triumph. There was a small part of him that couldn't wait to see Sakura's look of disappointment._

 _Hesitantly, Sasuke pulled his bouquet out from behind his back. Sakura's eyes went wide and sparkly. Her mouth formed an 'O' shape as she gently took the bouquet from Sasuke._

" _Daffodils are the March birth flower," Sasuke muttered, ears turning even redder._

" _That's not all they mean," Ino muttered low enough only for Naruto to hear. "Plus, they also just happen to be her favorite."_

" _I thought that was cosmos!" Naruto whispered back._

" _No. Those are_ my _favorite." For some reason Ino flushed pink when she said that. She fiddled with the hem of her blouse and snuck a peek at Sakura. "Especially pink ones."_

 _Naruto barely processed the look on Ino's face when she admitted her favorite flower to him. He had looked back over to his best friends, a heavy, sick feeling in his stomach._

 _Sakura cradled the daffodils gently in her arms. She looked up at Sasuke, who was already growing past all of them in height, and gave him a soft smile, cheeks flushed a delicate pink._

 _"Thank you," She said softly. Sasuke nodded, averting his gaze, cheeks now the palest shade of pink ever. Sakura's smile was gentle and warm._

 _Naruto's chest constricted. That was the smile and face he wanted Sakura to make for him, that he was so sure he could get._

 _It was the first time Naruto realized that it was a smile that was never directed at him._

* * *

Naruto turned into an aisle and sighed. He wasn't that surprised to see Sakura and Sasuke at one of the tables but he had hoped that neither one of them would be in the library. Although he held no feelings of resentment toward Sasuke, it was still weird to see the two of them together.

From an outsider's perspective he couldn't help but think that they were well suited for each other. Sakura was a beautiful girl and Sasuke─he hated to admit─was a really good looking guy. Hinata had even commented on that fact. Knowing them better than most people he had to begrudgingly agree that although they were opposites it worked in their favor. Naruto had always thought that he and Sakura were more suited for each other because they both had sunny dispositions but Sakura disagreed.

"I can't do it. Can you press send for me? I'm too nervous."

Naruto looked over at their table from the gaps between the books on the shelves. Sakura had her fists balled into her hair and Sasuke was smirking at her. Naruto frowned. It was highly inappropriate for him to make fun of Sakura when she looked so stressed.

"You're such a dork. Here." Sasuke took Sakura's hand in his own and guided it over the touchpad on the Macbook they were using. Naruto noticed all of the band stickers on it so it had to be Sasuke's laptop. Using little force, Sasuke pushed down on Sakura's finger so that she clicked the button for whatever she was trying to submit. "That wasn't so bad was it?"

Sakura pouted, puffing out her cheeks. She sighed and nodded, muttering a small thank you. Really quickly, she poked Sasuke's cheek which left him wide eyed and confused.

"You didn't have to make fun of me though."

"I didn't say anything."

"No, but you were thinking it."

Sasuke snorted and Sakura gave him a quick peck on the cheek and then stuck her tongue out at him. Sasuke looked taken aback and Naruto was sure he was going to reprimand her for the sudden display of affection but instead Sasuke stood up and pulled Sakura by the hand behind a set of shelves. Curious, Naruto crept over to the aisle near by and peeked through the gaps again. The back of his neck heated up when he saw Sasuke cup Sakura's face in his hands and kiss her deeply.

"Still mad at me?" Sasuke teased.

"I wasn't mad," Sakura muttered, cheeks pink. She pulled him down by his collar to give him another kiss.

Naruto felt a hard tug on his ear and had to bite his lip to keep from crying out. He looked down and saw Ino glaring furiously at him. Still holding onto his ear she dragged him away from the aisles towards a more isolated part of the library. On their way there Shikamaru spotted them and shook his head.

Naruto raised his hands in front of his chest in prayer, begging for help but Shikamaru just shrugged and turned away.

"Ino let go!" Naruto hissed. Ino finally let go of his ear and pushed him against the back corner of the library.

"I see you're still a peeping tom."

"That was once! Wait. I wasn't peeping!"

Ino crossed her arms in front of her chest and tossed her long hair over her shoulder. Her right eye was twitching the more she glared at him.

"And what do you call watching your best friends making out from behind a bookcase?"

"I wasn't─I mean, dammit Ino! That's not what I was doing."

"Sure it wasn't," Ino scoffed. "You know you need to get over it, right?"

"I am over it!" Naruto could feel the heat creeping up his neck again. "Why do people assume I'm not?'

"Because you don't act like it. You're going to hurt someone that way."

Hinata's face came to the front of Naruto's mind and his stomach dropped.

"I mean, Sakura is going to feel like crap all over again and I would like to avoid that."

"Sakura?" Naruto asked confused. He had momentarily forgotten that she was the subject of the conversation when he felt the guilt over Hinata. It was one of the reasons why Karin hated helping him with work. He got distracted easily.

"Isn't that why you were spying? Because you're still into Sakura?"

"No!" Naruto cried out. Shikamaru popped his head out from three aisles away and shushed them. "I mean no. I was just…"

"Just what?"

Naruto sighed and averted his gaze. When he looked back to Ino she was staring at him expectantly

"I wanted to know if I could see them being together without it feeling weird. I miss when it was the three of us." Naruto clutched his shirt, right over his chest. "I don't feel the same way for Sakura like before. I really, _really_ , like my girlfriend but it's just…"

"But it's still hard because she's your first love?" Ino gave him a soft smile. It was sad, but filled with the gentleness that Sakura always assured him Ino had. He never believed it because she was always shouting at Chouji, Shikamaru, and him.

"Yeah." Naruto nodded in agreement. "It's a kind of bittersweet feeling. I'm sad because it wasn't me she wanted but I'm happy that she's happy. That they're _both_ happy. And I don't want to be that person by Sak's side anymore but I can't help that strange ache in my chest."

"Don't call her that. She hates that nickname." Ino frowned and shook her head. "And don't worry about that ache. It will go away eventually. You just need time."

"How are you so sure it will?"

"Because I've been in the same boat."

"Really? You have never even dated anyone but Sai before. I thought _he_ was your first love."

"No. Sai's probably my _true_ love. But not my first love."

"It wasn't Sasuke was it?" Naruto's face twisted up in disgust. Just about every girl he knew had a crush on Sasuke at one point. That was part of the original appeal of Hinata. She had never even met Sasuke and wouldn't compare the two of them to each other.

"I had a crush on him for like a minute but he wasn't my first love."

"Shika?" Naruto gagged. There was something about it that seemed really wrong.

"Ew! No. He's like the brother I never asked for."

"I wouldn't ask for you to be my sister either," Shikamaru called out from the same aisle he was in previously.

"Wait. Then Chouji?" Ino gave him an unimpressed look.

"How heteronormative of you to assume it would have to be one of my guy friends."

Naruto choked on air and his face flushed deep red. Ino smirked at how flustered he became.

"Sakura?" Naruto's voice dropped even lower so that only Ino could hear him. She nodded and patted his head for finally coming to the right conclusion. "You like girls too?"

" _Wow_. Of course that's straight where your brain goes to." Ino sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Gender isn't something I care about or that I could help. Sakura just happens to be a girl and she just happens to be the one that I first fell in love with. But yeah occasionally I do find a girl really attractive. And Sai always disagrees heavily with me because we have different tastes. So you could say I'm bi."

"Does she know?"

"Yes, of course. And I didn't even have to kiss her against her will to tell her."

"Of course you would know about that," Naruto said bitterly. It was the worst moment of his life. Sakura's face afterward haunted him for the longest time. It was a very bad period of his life and no matter how often he was assured that it was a moment of immaturity he couldn't forgive himself for it. "Kind of weird to think that _you_ were also my rival in love back then. Does Sai know about Sakura? Like your old feelings for her?"

"Of course he does. I don't hide anything from him."

"Really? So you're going to tell him about cornering me in the library?"

"I don't need to." Ino pointed behind him. "He's right there."

Naruto turned around and jumped when he saw Sai standing a few feet away holding a book. Sai smiled at him and waved.

"Hello."

"When the fuck did you get here?"

"I was here the whole time."

"You two really go everywhere together don't you?" Naruto muttered, slightly frightened by the couple.

"Except the restroom," Shikamaru said from the next aisle over. "Although he has followed her in a few times."

"No more comments from the cheap seats," Ino scolded Shikamaru.

"Whatever. We gotta go. Our lunch block is almost over. Sai? Where are you even suppose to be?"

"I needed to get away from the studio. Too many fumes from the oil paints."

"I told you to open a window, Sai."

"But it's so cold out, Beautiful."

Naruto walked away from Shikamaru and the weird couple and made his way out through the aisles to reach the exit. If he stuck around he would just be caught up in more Ino and Sai weirdness. He had no idea how Shikamaru and Sakura could handle being around them for long.

On his way out he caught Sakura and Sasuke still cozy in their own aisle. He inwardly thanked God that they were just whispering to each other. There was something weird about watching Sasuke act like a normal teenage boy with hormones.

Looking behind him first to make sure Ino wasn't anywhere in sight, Naruto took another peek at his best friends. Sasuke had caged Sakura within his arms, hands on the bookcase on either side of her. She was looking at him, smiling all warm and soft. Smiling Naruto's favorite smile.

Smiling the smile he would forever thank Sasuke for causing.

* * *

Looking in the mirror was a hard task. But Karin always managed. It wasn't as if she was ugly. There was just _parts_ of her she couldn't help but think were ugly.

She tilted her head from to side, examining her reflection. She frowned at the awkward tan line she still had even in the middle of winter. Her arms were milky white with scars running up and down them while the skin on her chest and her face was a nice peachy color. The effects of never letting the sun shine on her arms.

"Are you leaving already?"

Karin turned around and saw Suigetsu sitting on his bed, not even bothering to cover up. She rolled her eyes at him and pulled her tank top and then her sweater over head.

"You know I have somewhere to be." Karin grabbed her peacoat, a really nice black one that her aunt had bought for her, and slipped it on.

"You stay less and less nowadays," Suigetsu muttered, reaching for his clothes all piled up at the foot of his bed.

"Are we really doing this right now?" Karin glared at him as she grabbed her backpack. "I'm going to miss visiting hours if I don't leave soon."

"Just go. Manny will be home soon anyway."

Karin frowned. That was a lie. Suigetsu's older brother wasn't due to come home from work for hours. She clamped her mouth shut, refusing to start arguing with him about the lie like he was fishing for.

"Bye, Sui."

"Yeah. See ya."

Karin practically ran down the steps of Suigetsu's fourth floor walkup. She turned the corner and headed into the area parking garage and as soon as she got to her car she threw her bag into the passenger seat of her car and took a moment to take a deep inhale and exhale.

"I ain't got time for this shit," Karin muttered to herself as she started up her Camry. She pulled out of the parking garage.

Karin knew she shouldn't have wasted time fooling around with Suigetsu but she felt she needed to give him _some_ attention in order to pacify him. She had been busy with her part-time job as a custodian for a law firm and using all of her free time to visit her mother who was receiving palliative care forty-five minutes away in the city of Kusa.

The drive was long and used up a lot of gas which was what most of her money from her part-time went toward but it was worth it. After she had received a scholarship to attend Oto Prep as a boarding student she never had time to visit her mother but after she convinced Minato to get her a car she took trips at least twice a week. She usually had enough money just for those two trips because Minato provided her with gas money as long as she drove Naruto to school and back. When that became not often enough she started working in order to fund her trips.

She never told her Aunt Kushina or Minato about visiting her mother because then they would offer to pay for her trip expenses and that was the last thing she wanted. She already felt like a burden to them and she still felt guilty for being rude to Naruto when she first started living with them. It was common for them to act that way towards each other but what she had told him was uncalled for.

Naruto had been fascinated by her hair and how different it was from Kushina's hair even though they were related. It wasn't a vibrant tomato red like his mother's or her own mother's hair but a rich and deep cinnamon color and her eyes weren't grey-blue like most Uzumakis but russet, a red-brown, like her estranged father's eyes. Karin was insulted, thinking he had implied she was a washed out variation of what an Uzumaki was suppose to look like and snapped at him, telling him he shouldn't be allowed to be called Uzumaki since he sure didn't look like one at all.

That fight had established a boundary between the two cousins that neither one of them ever brought up.

The two of them didn't speak for a few weeks when she first started living with his family which led to a pretty lonely existence at home and at school. Sure she had Suigetsu, Jūgo, and Sasuke, but they weren't in a majority of her classes or in Sasuke's case, too quiet to be considered quality company most of the time. It wasn't a new experience, just the same as when she was in foster care and when she attended Oto Prep. Mostly ignored by everyone else. Karin thought it would be a nice change as long as nothing like what had happened in the dorms happened again.

Everything was going fine until one day after gym class.

* * *

" _Shit." Karin scrambled, blind, looking for her glasses. "I'm going to kill you, you little shits."_

" _Look at the old lady." A squeaky high pitched voice cackled. "Guess this is where she heads to after class. Too good to talk to any of us and too good to use the same showers, huh?"_

 _Karin sighed and sat down with her back against one of the plastic dividers of the shower stalls. She had become accustomed to sneaking into the girls team locker room to shower in peace in the more private showers than the communal type in the gym locker room. She didn't want anyone to see her scars and bite marks from the torment she received from her old roommates, especially not the underclassmen._

" _Eww. What's wrong with her arms?"_

" _I don't know but it's creepy."_

" _Come on, let's go. Just leave her glasses and clothes somewhere high where she can't find them."_

" _She's so blind I don't think it would matter."_

 _Karin sat there for a moment, trying to calm down. She didn't cry during her abuse and she wasn't going to cry now. Tears wouldn't solve anything. There was the pattering of hurried foot steps and giggles and then the lights went out before the door to the locker room slammed shut._

" _Overkill, assholes," Karin muttered to herself._

 _A moment later there was the sound of shrieks and apologies coming muffled through the walls of the locker room. An incoherent voice was shouting and then the sound of the door opening and the lights flickered back on._

" _Hello?" A melodious voice called out. It was the kind of voice Karin hated because it was overly feminine and sweet._

 _Karin remained silent, not wanting to draw attention to herself. She would just wait until the stranger left._

" _There you are." A pink blob had pulled back the curtain. Karin was about tell her to go away when the stranger wrapped her up in a soft towel that smelled of lavender, covering her shoulders and arms. "You're going to get sick sitting here in the cold after a shower."_

Why do you care? _Karin grumbled inwardly._

" _Wait one second."_

 _The pink blob left her line of sight. All Karin could hear was the sound of metal doors opening and what sounded like rubber soled shoes squeaking against metal, then a triumphant "Aha!", and then the thump of someone landing on their feet._

" _I believe these are yours?" The pink blob came back and placed Karin's glasses in her hands. Karin immediately placed them on her face to look at the person helping her._

" _Holy shit you're really pink." Karin had no filter and said the first thing on her mind when everything came back to focus._

" _And you're really red," the strange pink girl giggled. But she wasn't really a stranger. Karin knew exactly who this pink haired kid was. The greener than green eyes gave her away. Even if someone dyed their hair pink they couldn't replicate the color of the eyes of the girl sitting between Sasuke and Naruto in the photo Sasuke used as his phone's lock screen._

 _Sasuke didn't talk much but what he did share always had a common theme: two people. One of them was her own cousin Naruto and the other was a girl named Sakura. Karin thought herself very observant and couldn't help but notice the pleasant aura around Sasuke whenever he briefly mentioned her._

" _I'm going to go guard the door, okay?" Sakura handed Karin her clothes. Karin snatched them away, not completely trusting the pretty girl in front of her._

" _What are you even doing here?"_

" _I play volleyball. I came to store my gym bag away." Sakura turned back to smile at Karin. It was an easy casual smile that had Karin blinking rapidly in confusion at how calm she felt from seeing it. "Lucky, huh?"_

" _Yeah. Real lucky," Karin bit out sarcastically. It wasn't that she was_ trying _to push her away. It was just something she did instinctively with people. There was something about the calm, familiar feeling settling in her body that made her uncomfortable to be around Sakura._

" _Almost done? The bell's going to ring soon."_

 _Karin slipped her cardigan on and watched Sakura for a moment. She just realized that Sakura had not once looked at her arms after she had covered her with the towel that Karin assumed was from her own gym bag. Sakura didn't cringe or ask about them or made any sort of comment._

" _You know, I've only ever seen one person with hair this red." Sakura reached over and twirled a strand of Karin's locks with her index finger. "My friend Naruto. His mother has really, really red hair. It's so unique."_

" _It's not the same red!" Karin snapped, flustered by the ease Sakura displayed in getting close. Karin usually felt jealous when girls were able to get all touchy in a casual manner. She didn't have the social skills to do anything like that properly. With Sakura, she just felt embarrassed by the longing feeling in her chest. Like she didn't want her to go away._

 _Sakura's eyes went wide in shock at the outburst but then she burst into a fit of giggles._

" _No. Your hair is so much better. Really pretty." Sakura gave her a wide, toothy smile. "But it is pretty similar. Like you could be related."_

 _The two girls left the locker room and headed down the hall together in silence. After a while, Karin broke it._

" _She's my cousin. Like three times removed or some shit," Karin muttered. Sakura's green eyes became all sparkly at the new information. "But I call her Auntie because she's, well, much older than I am and she acts like one."_

"Your _Naruto's cousin! I've been wanting to meet you." Sakura hooked her arm with Karin's and Karin gaped, surprised at how happy and easy Sakura was with a stranger. "We should totally hang out after school. Maybe get something to eat. Have you been around town much? I can show you the best shops."_

 _Karin's eye twitched. Sakura was just as much a chatterbox as Naruto and Suigetsu were. The only consolation was that although she rambled on and on, her voice wasn't as annoying as she once thought her type of voice was._

" _Okonomiyaki."_

" _Pardon?"_

" _Okonomiyaki. It's my favorite but I don't know the stores around Konoha. Do you have any recommendations?"_

 _Sakura beamed at her and started prattling on about a restaurant near a café her family owned. Karin's mouth twitched upward on one side as she started to recognize the calm feeling she was getting. She had felt it only once before in the past few years, when Sasuke and the others found a way to get her away from Oto._

 _It was the sensation of feeling safe._

* * *

Visiting her mother always felt awkward. It was her mother and she was only seventeen, she shouldn't have to _visit_ her. She should have been _living_ with her.

"I should get going, Ma." Karin packed up her school books and handed her mother the envelope of photos she had recently had developed. Mariko took them with a gentle hold. She would spend her time adding them to her scrapbook the next day. "I need to go talk to the man in finances about the bills."

"You don't have to do that." Mariko took Karin's hand in her own and stroked the top of it. "The payment has been taken care of for this month already."

"By who?" Karin frowned. She had been funneling money from her college savings to help pay for her mother's palliative care, against her mother's wishes, when Mariko was no longer able to support herself. Her congestive heart failure had only gotten worse over the years and instead of just being unable to care and give the support Karin needed, now she was falling apart on her own.

Karin cursed her father every day. He better pray he never saw her again. If he had only stuck around Karin could be in her own home with her own family.

"Here." Mariko pulled out a folder from the drawer in her night stand. Karin took it and opened it up. Skimming through all of the billing information she reached the bottom where there was a messy scrawl for a signature. The 'N' and the 'U' were the only legible letters.

"Oh."

"He's a very nice boy."

"He's _visited_ you?" Karin stared at her mother wide eyed. "And how did he even have access to your account? That's gotta be illegal or something."

"I'm not sure. But he does visit sometimes. Whenever he can. I'm surprised you two haven't crossed paths when you come here."

"Yeah, me too."

Karin walked slowly to her car, trying to process everything that had happened during her visitation to her mother.

Naruto. Naruto with his Namikaze blonde hair and blue eyes that she wouldn't let him forget about had been visiting her mother. Not only had he been spending time with her but he had helped make a payment for her care.

Karin sat in her car, not even bothering to put the key in the ignition, and her head collapsed onto the steering wheel. She did something she hadn't let herself do in a long time, not since the state terminated her mother's parental rights for failure to support her. Not since she lost her family.

For the first time since she was fourteen, Karin Uzumaki cried.

* * *

Naruto had a goal. He was going to spend more time with Sakura and Sasuke, just like they use to. If Ino could get over her feelings and continue to be Sakura's best friend without complications, he sure as hell could.

Which is why he proposed a day out in the snow since school was cancelled. They had received seven inches of snow which was just decent enough to play in.

"Care to explain what we're doing, moron?" Sasuke looked even more like a pissed off cat than usual, arms crossed in annoyance. Sakura stood as close as possible to him, shivering. "It's cold."

"You never feel cold," Naruto scoffed. Sasuke deadpanned and then looked over at Sakura who was bundled up completely, scarf hiding the lower half of her face so that only her eyes could be seen. "Oh. Right."

"You guys are idiots." Karin shouted down at them from her bedroom window. Naruto stuck his tongue out at her and Karin shut her window.

"So what do you guys want to do first? I think we should make─"

Naruto was cut off when a snowball hit his face. He looked over at Sasuke, flabbergasted, and saw him smirking. Sasuke raised his gloved hands and showed him how clean they were. Naruto was confused since he thought it had to have been Sasuke. He looked over at Sakura who was already packing another snowball.

"Every man for themselves!" Her cry came out muffled behind the wool scarf and she threw her next snowball at Sasuke who wasn't expecting her to attack him.

After a few minutes of fighting in Naruto's backyard, the snowball fight ended up on the street. Sakura and Naruto had teamed up after his short alliance with Sasuke. The two boys had originally needed to gang up on Sakura because of the odd way she easily evaded any snowballs thrown at her, even in all of her extra clothes, but Naruto ended up breaking his alliance when Sasuke dropped his guard.

Sasuke had taken the first opportunity to swiftly hop over Naruto's waist high fence to avoid anymore hits. Naruto quickly followed and Sakura stumbled in all of her bulky clothes over the fence after them. Tired of chasing and throwing, Naruto tackled Sasuke into one of their neighbors' snow covered bushes.

"What the _hell_ Naruto?" Sasuke pushed Naruto off of him. The two of them sat in the bush, stuck. They both squirmed, trying to find a way to free themselves.

"I got caught up in the moment," Naruto replied, sheepishly. The whole act of tackling Sasuke had been mostly impulsive. There was a need to win that had taken over.

"You're such a dumbass."

"Hey!"

Their bickering was cut short by the sound of Sakura laughing. Naruto looked over and saw her doubled over, clutching her sides.

"You guys look so stupid." Sakura wiped at her eyes, a tear from laughter escaping. "Hold on one sec. I'm going to take a picture of you guys."

"No." Sasuke gave her a disgruntled look that reminded Naruto of the grumpy black cat that roamed the streets at night and hissed at him whenever he tried to get near it.

"I'm doing it anyway." Sakura took out her phone from somewhere inside of her parka and prepared to snap a photo. Sasuke kept squirming, not wanting to take any embarrassing photos.

"Hey Sakura." Naruto got her attention and then he shoved a scoop of snow into Sasuke's face. The shutter went off and Sakura burst out laughing again.

"I'm going to kill you." Snow fell from Sasuke's face with every movement he made as he talked. Sakura's laughter increased in volume which caused Naruto to burst out laughing even more.

This, Naruto decided, was worth the heartache.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _**How do y'all feel about the length of this chapter? I'm going to try and make future chapters as long or longer so I sort of experimented with mixing POVs and hopefully they flow well. Which means I will probably start doing more than one POV per chapter now.**_

 _ **I wanted more realism and it made no sense for Naruto to be instantly done with Sakura. So I wanted to highlight more on that. That dull ache you feel when you have to move on from someone you really liked and never really had the chance to be with.**_

 _ **Nothing is filler. Everything I give you is important and will come up again sooner or later. But this is the last Karin or Naruto POV until they're all well into adulthood. So don't worry I won't be putting a heavy focus on other POVs. I tend to just stick to Uchiha and Sakura POVs.**_

 _ **I hope you guys have noticed by now the theme of family in this fic. Everyone has their own thing going on, and there's SasuSaku, but a big center in their lives is family.**_

 _ **Remember, I'm using the V.A. names for characters that were never given names or surnames. So Karin's mom's name is Mariko.**_

 _ **I'm going to be busy making something for the next chapter. I hope to have it done by then. The next chapter should be up in a couple of days.**_


	14. Lace And Other Things

**Chapter Fourteen: Lace And Other Things**

When Sakura woke up she wasn't in her own room and she wasn't in Sasuke's. The walls weren't black and lined with posters but there was a quality to it that felt very much like the Uchiha home. The light blue of the walls with the white molding running through the center of them and the plushness of the bed she lay in was such a Mikoto quality that Sakura could only come to the conclusion that she was in the Uchiha guest room.

 _I was in school. And then I passed out. I woke up and Mikoto was the one that picked me up._

Sakura nodded to herself, catching herself up with what had happened prior to her waking up. She snuggled deeper into the sheets, the smell of the laundry detergent Mikoto used easing her troubled mind.

Sakura had completely forgotten that Mikoto was her emergency contact for when her parents couldn't be reached. Her mother had listed her as such so long ago it was easy to forget. She never really needed her parents to be contacted except for the rare emergencies in elementary school. She was usually a very healthy person and rarely came down with any sickness.

"Sakura?" Mikoto had entered the room with a cold compress and a bottle of Tylenol. "I called your mother at the café. You were sleeping so I couldn't ask if I could give you Tylenol for your fever but she says it's fine so I brought some up. I hope you don't mind but I'm going to keep you here until you're mom can come home. I told her I didn't mind watching over you if it was too busy at the shop."

Sakura nodded slowly, too tired to speak and too sore to make any big movements. She sat up slowly so that she could take the medicine Mikoto had brought for her.

"Are you fine in your school clothes for now? I can always pick something up from your room if you don't mind me rifling through your drawers." Mikoto's face flushed a dull shade of red. "I'm sorry that I can't provide you with any of my clothing but I don't own sweats or bed clothes appropriate for a teenage girl."

Sakura held back from giggling over how flustered she had made Mikoto Uchiha just by needing a change of clothes. Growing up she had never seen Mikoto dressed in anything as frumpy as sweatpants or cotton shorts and she always had the suspicion that the elegant woman had a more risqué side to her than she let on. It was kind of cute and she hoped when she reached Mikoto's age that she was completely secure and confident enough in her body to wear satin slips and negligees every night for sleepwear.

But then again she was always complaining about the cold and wouldn't be able to pull it off for that reason. Sakura guessed that Sasuke wasn't the only Uchiha with fire in his veins.

"If you need anything I'll be in the study working on some designs." Mikoto brushed Sakura's hair away from her face and made a soft tutting sound. "You shouldn't overwork yourself. You stressed your body out so much. Remember, our bodies can only handle so much."

Sakura tried to protest and argue that her body didn't have limits but her mouth didn't want to cooperate with her. Mikoto just gave her a knowing look and smirked when Sakura could only pout to voice her disagreement.

"Unfortunately you can't use the restroom in the guest room because it connects to Itachi's room. It seemed like a much better idea at the time for his room to be that way because he's much more agreeable than Sasuke but Itachi can't come into contact with you or anything you touch right now because of your fever. You can use Sasuke's bathroom so you don't have to walk down to the powder room."

Mikoto waited for Sakura to lie back down so she could pull the sheets and duvet up to underneath her chin. Sakura hid her face underneath the blankets and closed her eyes. She almost didn't notice the feather light kiss that was placed on her head. As soon as she heard the door close she let out a long sigh.

 _I've really done it now._

On top of overworking herself with her packed work and volunteer schedule, Sakura had been stressing over her recommendation letters. She didn't want to hound her teachers but some of them were really cutting it close. It was a shame that she needed so many for all of the scholarships she was applying for.

 _Mama is going to cut back on my work hours now._

Sakura knew she could always apply to work somewhere else but the bonus to working at Budding Cherry Blossom was that she could see her parents more often. Spending time with her parents, especially her father, was something she use to take for granted.

 _I should just try to sleep…_

Sakura woke up two hours later, irritated by how gross she felt. She smelled of sweat and she was soaked. The medicine was working, helping her break her fever but it was disgusting to feel so hot and sweaty. The roots of her hair and the back of her neck was drenched.

Throwing the duvet off of her body, Sakura groaned at how sore she still felt and pulled herself out of bed. Feeling the back of her neck and how wet her scalp was, Sakura made her way out of the room and down the hall. There was a smell of something cooking so she assumed Mikoto was in the kitchen. She turned her head to the left and looked at the installed shelves full of photos and awards.

Sakura nodded to herself, remembering that Mikoto had called this hallway on the upper floor a gallery. It reminded her of art museums but she felt silly bringing it up to a pro. Mikoto was an interior designer and had a heavy influence in the building and then remodelling of her home.

Sakura traced the edge of a middle shelf with her finger and then tapped at a trophy. It was one of Itachi's for a taekwondo tournament. In the same row were many more of his and Sasuke's ribbons and medals hanging off of trophies for kendo or taekwondo or basketball in Sasuke's case.

Sakura smiled as she looked at different framed photographs from different events. Her favorites were from Sasuke's piano recitals. He was so small and dressed up in tuxedos. In photos with awards, Mikoto was in the photo, beaming brightly with her hands on his shoulders. Looking closely, she could see the pink on Sasuke's face, the only sign that he was embarrassed by how excitable his mother was. Sakura felt her cheeks heat up when she noticed a photo with Sasuke holding a bouquet of daffodils. He was scowling with red ears, heavily embarrassed. She had asked Mikoto to give him the bouquet after one of his recitals when they were eleven.

She liked plenty of Itachi's photo's from when he was a lot younger but that's because in all of those Sasuke was standing next to him, smiling from ear to ear. He use to smile really big when they were younger.

Sakura frowned when she noticed a significant difference in Sasuke's and Itachi's photographs. In almost every single competition photo of Itachi's, Fugaku was standing next to his son. In Sasuke's photos, he was either alone or with his mother. In some rare ones Itachi stood next to his younger brother. She knew Fugaku was a busy man but it was frustrating to know that he obviously made time for the eldest son and not the younger one.

With a huff, Sakura marched further down the gallery and opened the linen closet at the end of the hall to grab a towel. She grabbed a fluffy towel and marched into Sasuke's room to his bathroom to freshen up. She desperately wanted a shower to rid herself of her sweat.

Forgetting that she should have acted more reserved about entering a man's bedroom, Sakura rifled through the drawers and shelves in Sasuke's walk in closet for a new set of clothes. Sakura grimaced when she realized she didn't have an extra set of undergarments and looked for a pair of boxer shorts without an opening up front. She wasn't going to wear her already used underwear and she wasn't going to ask Mikoto for a pair or for her to head over to her house to grab some for her. She didn't want to receive any more shocks from Mikoto's wardrobe nor did she feel comfortable with her boyfriend's mother knowing what she wore under her clothes even if most of her undergarments consisted of innocent boyshorts with only a few rare lacy hipster panties.

 _Would these fit me?_ Sakura held up a pair of black boxer briefs to her crotch and tried to measure it out. _Sasuke is much taller and bigger than I am but I have pretty thick thighs. Hopefully that helps despite the extra room at the waist._

Shrugging her shoulders she added them to the pile of clothes she chose for herself. She wasn't going to wear them long anyway. Just some fresh clothes so she wouldn't have to sleep in sweat drenched garments.

After a quick shower Sakura shimmied her body into Sasuke's baggy clothing. She would usually lather herself up with lotion but there didn't seem to be any which was fine considering how tired she was after only showering.

 _I wonder if this is how Itachi feels after his showers. I have no energy left._

When she first found out about Itachi having Lupus she had researched as much as she could, knowing that Sasuke was still out of it because of the initial shock of his brother being hospitalized. She wanted to help him further understand what was going on with his brother but she never got that chance due to him closing himself off and the little incident involving her calls and texts being blocked.

Sakura shook her head and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She wiped the glass when it continued to fog up from the steam and frowned at how splotchy her face looked. She was pale from feeling ill but the shower caused her skin to heat up and she had awkward red patches on her cheeks.

Sakura jumped when there was a knock on the door. Mikoto must have come to check on her. She unlocked the door and Sasuke leaned against the doorway, arms crossed in front of his chest and eyebrow raised.

"Aren't you suppose to be sleeping because you're sick, not in my room stealing my clothes?"

"I was sweaty and it was gross."

"You're not that gross when you're sweaty actually. Salty. But not gross."

Sakura's face heated up and she pushed past Sasuke who was smirking at her. She slipped on his navy blue Konoha Police Academy hoodie. It was Sasuke's favorite hoodie that he had originally stolen from Itachi.

"That's an interesting look for you."

Sasuke pulled her toward him by the hoodie's pockets. Sakura could feel his hands groping at her waist and hips through the material of the sweater. His hands slipped out of the pockets to slip under the hoodie so he could place his hands on the small of her back. He bent his head down and leaned his forehead against hers.

"You're really warm," he murmured lowly. A shiver ran down Sakura's spine.

"Of course I am. I'm sick, Sasuke. And your mom's somewhere in the house." Sakura pushed lightly against his chest, not really wanting him to pull away from her. "I didn't realize it would interest you to see me in men's clothing."

"Not men's clothing," Sasuke scoffed. He pulled on the hem of his Brand New shirt that she was wearing. The hem reached past her waist and settled on top of her legs around mid-thigh. " _My_ clothes. There's a difference. Why this one?"

"Deja Entendu has my favorite cover art. And it's not like you wear your band shirts anymore." Sakura crossed her arms in front of her chest. She had picked the shirt from a pile of perfectly folded shirts that looked like they had never been touched. She almost expected the shirt to feel stiff the way some t-shirts felt when they were brand new and never worn before.

"Yeah." Sasuke pulled slightly back, a frown on his face.

Sasuke use to wear all sorts of band shirts as his casual clothes, most of his clothing leaning towards being punk. His father wasn't a big fan of it and would make an odd sort of grunting sound when he saw Sasuke dressed in any way he thought wasn't presentable. Sakura hated it. It was like he was trying to suffocate Sasuke and mold him into just any other Uchiha.

Which made Sakura terribly sad. She loved Sasuke just the way he was, Uchiha having nothing to do with it, and couldn't see why his father couldn't accept him the way he was.

"You're making a face."

Sakura was pulled away from her thoughts by Sasuke pressing kisses to her throat, his lashes tickling her skin. She hadn't even noticed that he had sat down on the edge of his bed and pulled her between his legs.

"Sasuke. I'm _sick_."

"Yin-yang...taoism...cures sicknesses..." Sasuke murmured on her skin, now pressing open mouth kisses to her stomach. Sakura was tempted to take the shirt she was wearing and put it over his head to cut him off.

"Yes, because I of all people am going to believe that shit works. _You_ don't even believe that works. We're not taoists." Sakura yanked Sasuke's head away from her stomach and he glared up at her. "And I'm sure in that practice it's _men_ that are suppose to reap the benefits. You're not thinking with the right head."

Sasuke wrapped his arms around her torso and buried his face into her stomach. He mumbled some complaints that Sakura couldn't hear and she rolled her eyes.

"You smell like me. Minus the deodorant."

"I'm all minty. I kind of like it." Sakura giggled and placed a kiss on Sasuke's head. "I'm going back to the guest room before your mother walks in on us."

"Naruto's coming over."

"You guys had plans?"

Sasuke gave her one of his unimpressed looks and she was overcome with embarrassment when she finally realized why Naruto would be coming over to the Uchiha house.

"It was just a slight fever. All I needed was some sleep. You guys make such a big deal about everything."

" _You passed out_. And you're suppose to be a doctor in the future? God help those kids that walk into your clinic."

Sakura made a clicking sound with her tongue, tossed her hair over her shoulder, and then marched haughtily out of his room. She poked her head back into his doorway and glared at him.

"That was mean. I'm going to be an _amazing_ doctor. And kids are going to _love_ me."

"Sakura?" Mikoto called up from the bottom of the stairs. Sakura peeked down over the gallery railing to the foyer. Mikoto was smiling up at her. "You seem a lot better. You're not feeling nauseous are you? I'm going to bring something up for you to eat. You and Sasuke can eat in the media room."

"Sakura!?" Naruto walked in through the front door and stood next to Mikoto who looked at him with wide eyes. "How are you doing?"

"I forgot to lock the door when I came home," Sasuke muttered coming to stand next to Sakura. Naruto bounded up the stairs, lugging his backpack with him.

"I guess I'll bring up food for the three of you," Mikoto giggled and walked out of view.

Sasuke took Sakura by the hand and led her to the media room. Naruto burst in after them and dumped his backpack on the coffee table. He unzipped it and pulled out different video game cases and a console. He started to plug it into Sasuke's wall and connect it to the oversized flat screen on the wall.

"Loser. What are you doing?"

"We're going to play Pokkén. We're all here and you have a bigger TV. _Much_ bigger TV. It will look awesome."

"Did you even do your homework?" Sakura asked in a tone that made Naruto grimace. She was sure she sounded motherly and cringed a little. She thought she had grown out of being the "mom friend" of their trio but apparently she hadn't.

"First Sasuke, now you? I already have parents, guys!" Naruto's face squished up in the same way it always had when he pouted out of actual frustration instead of when he pouted to act cute.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at Sasuke, silently questioning him about what Naruto had just said.

"I'm his tutor. I'm suppose to ask," Sasuke grumbled. He left the room for a moment and came back with the pillows and a crocheted throw from the guest room. He fluffed them up on the L of the couch and gestured for Sakura to curl up there. As soon as she lied down he threw the throw over her and tucked it under her legs and feet to trap her body heat in.

" _Wow_." Naruto gaped at the two of them. "You're a lot more cutesy than I thought Sasuke."

"Shut up and hand me the controller." Sasuke slumped on the couch next to him. Sakura had a good view of the back of his neck and saw the familiar red blush that adorned it whenever he was flustered.

Barely into the first round, Mikoto came in with a tray laden with three bowls of tomato soup and a plate of cheesy bread.

"Pause the game. Time to eat." Mikoto said sternly to the two boys as she placed the tray on the coffee table. Like a switch had been flipped she smiled softly to Sakura and brought her bowl to her, speaking to her in a gentle tone. "I know you're a vegetarian like your father so I made tomato soup since it would work for both you and Sasuke. Sorry Naruto. I didn't know you were coming over."

"That's fine Mamakoto. Trust me, your cheesy bread is worth the lack of meat."

"Alright you three. Be careful not to make a mess. I have to go and call Itachi and see if he's getting something to eat with Izumi and Shisui. Can you believe he invited Shisui along on what could have been a date? I swear that boy is so clueless sometimes."

Mikoto shook her head and let out a sigh before leaving them to eat their dinner. Naruto practically inhaled his soup and used his sleeve to wipe his mouth. He looked up at Sasuke and Sakura who gave him identical disgusted faces.

"What?"

"Do you even taste what you eat?" Sakura handed her bowl to Sasuke who placed it back on the tray. She had eaten quickly too but in a much neater manner. She just remembered that she hadn't had anything to eat the whole day. There was no way she was going to say that out loud. Not only would Sasuke be upset but Mikoto would be outraged. She was the first one to find out about her dieting when she was in her middle school years and the lecture Sakura received was traumatizing.

"Hey guys," Naruto went blank in the face and stared into space. "What do you usually do for Valentine's Day?"

Sakura took a moment to think about it. She was apparently unaware that she was even in a relationship but Sasuke thought they were without even discussing it so she had to wonder if maybe he did something small for the day while she treated it like any other day.

She remembered sneaking out in the middle of the night last year around Valentine's Day. There was a long hike while they listened to Sasuke's iPod. She remembered Sasuke putting his jacket on the floor so she wouldn't scrape her knees while she sat in his lap, riding him. Then they walked back home holding hands.

The year before that, Sasuke convinced her to go stargazing, telling her that it was the perfect time to see Comet Lovejoy with the naked eye. The moon was full on Valentine's then. They took Itachi's telescope. It was her idea to go down on him in the middle of their clearing that year.

Sasuke had played her the first song he learned on the guitar the year prior to that. He was embarrassed because he had taught himself and it was the first time he was playing for anyone. Their relationship hadn't progressed beyond kisses and occasional heavy petting so all she had done was made out with him.

 _Shit. We did stuff? Wait. Did those count as dates!? I would have counted them! I don't care about being bought dinner or going anywhere really nice. I'm a cheap date and I am_ not _ashamed about it!_

"Why are you asking?" Sakura asked, face flushing pink. There was no way that she was going to explain to Naruto the intimate details of her relationship with Sasuke. For a moment she felt awkward. There's no way she was going to tell someone she viewed as her younger brother that she was sexually active. If he assumed that would be fine but she wasn't going to _tell_ him. Sasuke cleared his throat. Sakura looked over at him and saw that he was trying to contain a smirk. From the look on his face she could only assume she was making faces to match her train of thought.

"I was wondering what to do about it this year. Technically, Hina is my first real Valentine."

"Do you have any ideas?" Sakura leaned forward, taking interest. Sasuke got up and cleared the coffee table. He didn't even try to mask his disinterest in the subject and took the dirty dishes downstairs.

"Well...yeah. It's kind of stupid."

"It can't be that bad. Tell me!" Sakura clasped her hands together in her lap and waited eagerly.

"Well, apparently she's a huge Kyu fan. Her cousin has a friend that use to go to KSS─that Lee guy that wore a lot of track suits─and they all went to watch one of our home games for football together and she really liked the mascot."

Sakura's brow wrinkled as she tried to figure out for herself why Naruto would bring up their school's mascot Kyu the Fox.

"I was thinking I could dress up and bring her flowers and balloons, like in costume? Maybe even do my routine for her?"

"That's so cheesy Naruto. But I love it!" Sakura burst out into laughter. It was such a Naruto thing to do.

"So what's your plan? What do you even get for Sasuke? It's not like he eats chocolate."

"Same as every year? A carton of cherry tomatoes." Sakura just needed to make sure they lasted until she was able to give them to him. Ino loved cherry tomatoes, not all tomatoes like Sasuke did, but only cherry tomatoes. Sakura was sure the major difference for Ino was because they were bite sized and the texture was different than slices of tomatoes. Either way, Ino was likely to try and snack on them if she found the box like she attempted to do the year before.

"Ugh, you smell even more like Sasuke than usual." Naruto's nose wrinkled in disgust as he slid closer to her on the couch.

"Do I usually smell like him?" Sakura knew that it was unavoidable for her to smell like him at the moment but she didn't realize that she carried his scent around with her all of the time.

"Yeah you do. He smells like you too sometimes. I don't think other people notice but I've always had pretty strong olfactory senses. Kiba said I could have been a bloodhound in a past life or something."

"That's a big word for you. Olfactory." Sasuke came back in and he sat himself between Naruto and Sakura. Naruto sniffed him and Sasuke pushed him away, palming Naruto's face in his hand. "Stay away from me."

"Don't be a jerk," Naruto grumbled picking up his Wii U controller. "Come on, let's play. I could whoop your ass all night."

"This isn't a sleepover, idiot." Sasuke snatched the controller out of his hand, obviously offended by the idea that Naruto could beat him at anything. "It's a school night. You gotta go home soon. Preferably before Itachi gets here. I don't want you bothering him."

"Aww. But that's not fair. Sakura's sleeping over!"

"No she isn't. She's going home as soon as her mom can come pick her up."

"Uh-huh, sure. You just want to get rid of me."

"Well, _yeah_ , but that doesn't make what I said any less true."

"Well, I'm not leaving until Aunt Mebuki comes. How do I know if I leave you won't take advantage of poor, sick Sakura."

Sasuke stared straight ahead, pressing options on the menu to prepare for their next match. Sakura tried not to give him a look just in case Naruto saw it.

The three of them continued to play for another hour. Sakura started to get sleepy and curled up into a ball. Sasuke grabbed the duvet from the guest room to toss over her body and she was finally able to relax.

"I think that's Aunt Mebuki." Naruto paused the game and tilted his head so that he could hear the voices in the foyer better.

Mikoto could be heard giggling and speaking in a gentle, reassuring tone. Sakura could hear her mother sounding haggard and apologetic. She could just picture her, blonde hair falling out of place, worried lines on her forehead.

"I should go put my own pants back on." Sakura groaned as she pulled herself up from the couch and stretched.

"I'm not getting my stuff back am I?"

"Nope. Well, your underwear but I'll wash that first."

"You guys are weird." Naruto shuddered as he packed up all of his stuff.

Sakura ruffled his hair on her way out to get her stuff. She spotted her mother talking to Mikoto. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest, hugging her body protectively. She had the same problems with the cold that Sakura had. There was a pleasant smile on her mother's face as she listened to Mikoto's gossip.

Her mother, Mikoto, and Kushina had been close friends in their children's early years. Mikoto and Kushina had been friends since childhood but when Mikoto moved in next door after the Uchiha house was finished being built she quickly became friends with Mebuki. The three women had been pregnant at the same time and had bonded through motherhood. Mikoto being the veteran was a big help to the other two since it was the first child for both Mebuki and Kushina.

Mebuki had really needed help after Sakura was born. She and Kizashi were all alone with no family in the country. When Mebuki decided to runaway with Sakura's father when she was younger she had become estranged from her parents. Kizashi's parents had passed away. Sakura's grandfather had died while Kizashi was a teen some time after they moved from Japan and her grandmother passed away some time before Sakura turned two.

Sakura's parents had never been the traditional sort. Mebuki was seventeen when she ran off with Kizashi. Mebuki's parents were more traditional and not as accepting of her hippie lifestyle or of her nineteen year old punk boyfriend. Sakura never met her grandparents on her mother's side because Mebuki ran away from home when she became pregnant out of wedlock as a teenager and her parents demanded she either abort it or give it up for adoption. Unfortunately, Mebuki had a miscarriage and at the time it was believed she wouldn't be able to conceive again.

Instead of returning to her parents, she continued to live with Kizashi and his mother who had welcomed her into her home. They were happy and years after the loss, they found themselves expecting a child again. Mebuki and Kizashi married later on when Sakura was one. Although they loved each other greatly, a document that stated that they were bound together in marriage was never important to either of Sakura's parents.

The deciding factor was Kizashi's mother who wanted to see them officially wed before her time. Mebuki couldn't deny her wish, especially considering she was more mother to her than her actual mother had been. They had a small intimate ceremony with just the small Haruno family. There were many photos but Mebuki always told Sakura that her favorite was of Sakura standing between her parents, clinging to her mother's simple white cotton dress, as Kizashi's friend who was ordained married the two of them. They were all wearing flower crowns.

Sakura's parents didn't have a traditional love story but it was one that made her chest feel warm whenever she heard it. Her mother loved her father and her unborn baby so much that she turned her back on her family. She chose love over blood and she didn't regret a single day that she didn't speak to her parents.

"Why are you just standing there?" Mebuki asked waspishly. Although she had frown lines on her forehead and her lips were turned down at the corners, her eyes were full of concern. It was a typical look for Sakura's mother. "Let's get going. Button your coat all the way up. Thank Mrs. Uchiha before you leave."

"Thank you Ms. Mikoto."

"It was no problem at all. I don't mind looking after her at all. It was really nostalgic." Mikoto smiled cheerfully and helped Sakura wrap her scarf around her neck and tucked it into her red peacoat.

Mebuki took Sakura's bag from her and led Sakura by the arm back to their house. As soon as they were safely inside their house, Mebuki felt Sakura's cheeks with the back of her palm.

"You still look really pale. Even for you." Mebuki tossed Sakura's bag into the front hall closet and helped her out of her coat and other warm accessories. "No school for you tomorrow. _No arguments Sakura Haruno_. And you're grounded."

"What!? What for?"

"For being so careless. You're grounded for two weeks. So that means no working or volunteering at the hospital." Mebuki pushed Sakura on the small of her back until she turned to march up the stairs. Mebuki followed and continued to hand out Sakura's unique sort of punishment. "You're going to come home and rest after school. I've already spoken to Mikoto and she would be more than happy to watch over you just like when you were twelve. Is that what you want Sakura? To be treated like a child?"

Sakura groaned in frustration and turned into her bedroom. Her mother followed after her and rifled through her drawers to find a pair of warm pajamas. Mebuki tossed a set of flannel pajamas onto her bed and then searched for socks. Sakura grabbed the socks and stuffed them back in the drawer. If she let her mother continue she was going to end up sleeping in every article of clothing she owned.

"I can get dressed on my own. And I'll stay home from school tomorrow but I'm not pulling back from volunteering."

"It's funny how you think you have an actual choice," Mebuki laughed sardonically. After a moment she let out a sigh and rubbed her shoulder. She placed her hands on Sakura's cheeks, cupping her face. "It's just two weeks. Just give yourself time to relax and only focus on school. Please try and enjoy your last year in high school. You have all of college to be a stressed out student."

"Fine," Sakura grumbled. "I'm going to change now. So, uh, can I have some privacy?"

"Pfft!" Mebuki snorted. "Like I haven't seen all of your bits."

" _Mama_."

"Okay, okay."

As soon as Mebuki left Sakura collapsed on her bed and rubbed her temple. She laid there for a moment until she started to get sleepier. Reluctantly she stripped off her pants and slid on her flannel pajama bottoms. She opted to keep Sasuke's shirt on and curled up under blankets with her face tucked in the collar.

The smells of the Uchiha house lingered on the fabric and the relaxing smell of the citrus and floral scented fabric softener Mikoto used lulled her to sleep.

* * *

The sound of cursing attracted Itachi to his younger brother's room. He knocked on the door and waited for Sasuke to give him permission to enter. After a long pause Itachi called out to him, telling him who he was. He had forgotten how paranoid Sasuke had become within the last few years and wouldn't just let anyone in.

"Are you alright?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Sasuke's eyebrows were furrowed in confusion.

"Well there's paint splotches on your desk and I believe you called your computer a 'mother fucker'. So I'm just assuming you're not alright."

Sasuke sighed and ruffled his hair. Itachi noted how long it was getting. Soon enough Sasuke was going to be able to tie it back, not in a comfortable low and long ponytail like Itachi himself wore it, but in a small and high do with a little tail. Izumi was right. Sasuke needed a haircut.

Not that Sasuke would ever let Izumi near his head with a pair of scissors. The only thing he allowed was for Izumi to replace his shampoo and conditioner to help keep his hair healthy.

Itachi's chest lightened when he smelled the slight vanilla and mint scent of Sasuke's new hair product. It meant that Sasuke was making some attempts at self-care even if they were small and mostly about his looks. It also warmed him to know that Sasuke didn't completely reject Izumi's gift or her advice.

"The stupid CD didn't burn properly and it was my last empty disc." Sasuke scowled at a blank CD on his desk before taking it and tossing it in the bin by his desk.

"I think there's some blank ones in the study. I'll go look for one. You...continue your art project." Itachi tilted his head, trying to get a better look at what Sasuke was drawing with Sharpie paint pens on a different CD. Catching his brother trying to sneak a peek, Sasuke slid the disc and the sheet of paper it was on out of view.

Itachi rolled his eyes and left him to continue his DIY cover art for whatever he was trying to burn onto CDs. He could only assume that it was his younger brother's gift to Sakura for Valentine's Day.

Usually Itachi only ever went into the study to pick out a new book or put one back. Luckily for him, his mother kept the room really neat and everything was easy to find. In one of the cabinets along the wall a box of tapes sat inside right next to a stack of discs. The CDs were already prepackaged in cases. What threw Itachi off was that there were quite a few cases with labels on them already.

Pulling a few out Itachi read the covers. He chuckled to himself as he read the titles. The CDs were the audio to all of Sasuke's old piano recitals. For a moment Itachi thought his mother had decided to make CDs with his brother's playing but the handwriting on the cases didn't match his mother's delicate and curly script.

The writing almost looked liked Sasuke's neat but slanted and sharp letters but there was no way Sasuke would put effort into conserving his old compositions when he could redo them and record them as an MP3 file if he ever wanted to record himself. And if Sasuke had been doing the converting he would have known that there were blank discs in the cabinet in the study.

There was only one other person in the house that could have made the CDs and the thought confused Itachi. Fugaku had never gone to any of Sasuke's recitals that he knew of. Their father was either busy or showed no interest.

So what was he doing with CDs filled with Sasuke's old competition pieces?

* * *

Sakura sat on the bench in the dressing room stall and blew a raspberry at the lingerie hanging on the hook. She hated shopping with Ino because it was so hard not to give in to temptation whenever she found something really pretty. She didn't want to try on anything and fall in love with how she looked in it knowing it would cost more than she was willing to spend.

Especially if she didn't know when she would ever get the opportunity to wear it. Or if it was even something that would interest Sasuke to see. He seemed to not care about whatever she wore.

"Fuck it." Sakura pulled off her garments to toss on the mesh cami and shorts Karin had picked out for her.

"That's the spirit!" Ino chirped from the stall next to her.

"I kind of hate you Ino," Karin grumbled. "You could probably wear a sack and look good. Share the boobs."

"Ugh, don't even start. I'm going to sag so much when I'm older."

"Are you guys in the same stall?" Sakura slipped on the camisole and turned to face the mirror. She knew it would leave nothing to the imagination with how sheer it was but it still felt weird to be wearing clothes and still be able to see everything.

"Some of us aren't complete and total prudes, Forehead. What's it look like?"

"Really pretty. My wallet hates you guys." Sakura turned to look at her back and nodded at how her bottom looked in the lace shorts. Even with her panties on underneath them they still looked amazing. "These are going to be the most expensive pair of pajamas I own."

"Pajamas. Yea, sure. You're definitely going to use them just to sleep in," came Karin's sarcastic retort.

"Trust me. It's more likely that Sasuke will just ask me if I feel cold in it." Sakura giggled just imagining it. When he got the chance to see her new cami and short set he was probably going to end up wrapping her up in her duvet. She would just have to wait until there was no longer ice and snow everywhere to see his reaction.

"So are you going to get it?" Sakura could hear the excitement in Ino's voice. Sakura rolled her eyes. Ino knew that Sakura was going to give in and make the purchase.

"Yeah I am." There was a squeal and then a curse shouted by Karin who complained about the volume. "So hurry up. I'm going to go pay now."

Sakura quickly changed back into her clothes and neatly folded the set she was going to buy. She turned in the other stuff that was picked out to the rack of unwanted or ill fitting clothes in the dressing room area.

She was about to head to the counter when she saw a familiar head of long, silky brown hair. As quietly as she could she snuck up to Izumi and wrapped her arms around her waist and squeezed her into a tight embrace.

"Hello Sakura," Izumi giggled lightly.

"You knew I was behind you the whole time didn't you?"

"Yep. How are you?"

"Fine. Just shopping with some friends. You?"

Sakura let go of Izumi and looked at the two lace trimmed silk panties in her hand. They were Valentine's Day in theme, red with white edging and a single black bow on the front.

"Aren't those too big?"

Izumi was taller and more willowy in shape in comparison to Sakura who was petite and had a slight, sort of pear shaped figure. The underwear that Izumi was holding onto was at least three times her size.

"Yep. I'm not going to be the one wearing them." Izumi gave Sakura a sly grin that left her flushing red. She was learning a lot more about the Uchiha family than she needed to know recently. Izumi eyed the sheer garments in Sakura's hand. "But how are you doing? You're practicing safe sex, right?"

"Yes. Of course! I've definitely learned my lesson." Sakura felt heat creep up her neck from the shame. Izumi never tried to make her feel bad but Sakura was still embarrassed about the favor she needed to ask Izumi for when she was sixteen.

Izumi didn't ask any questions. She just went to the pharmacy and asked for Plan B at the counter. She was the only person Sakura knew over the age of eighteen at the time that she trusted to get her the morning after pill. She and Sasuke hadn't been careful their first time and she panicked. Sasuke couldn't be reached at all the day after and Sakura never told him about it but Izumi made her promise that she was going to make an appointment to discuss birth control with her OBGYN.

Izumi was exactly what Sakura expected an older sister should be like. She never asked Sakura who she had sex with or made any judgements. She just bought her the Plan B and comforted her through the side effects.

"Good! I'm sorry but I'm in a rush. I'll talk to you soon, okay?" Izumi hugged Sakura goodbye and made her way to the register.

 _Why did she get_ two _of the same large panties?_

* * *

Mikoto let out a deep sigh and placed her knife carefully onto the cutting board. Wiping her hands on her apron she made her way to the the back porch. She usually never had any complaints about either one of her sons but one of her biggest pet peeves was when one of them left the back doors open in winter. A cold draft would enter the home and put out the fire in the great room fireplace.

"Sas─" Mikoto stopped her tirade before it could begin.

She watched curiously as Sasuke squatted by the bushes that lined the fence between the Haruno home and their own. He stood up and examined the bush and nodded to himself seemingly satisfied with whatever it was that he had done. When she saw him turn to come back inside she ducked back into their house and returned to the kitchen.

"I'm heading out Mom."

"What time does the game start again?" Mikoto asked him, acting as if she never noticed him go outside. "I can't believe the season is almost over."

"It should start at five-thirty. There's only a few games left. Then play offs."

"I'm going to leave something for you to heat up when you come back, okay? Your father and I have dinner plans tonight so I won't be coming home after the game is over."

"Okay."

"Please eat. Not just that carton of cherry tomatoes you brought home after school but real food."

"I will. Bye Mom."

Mikoto gave her son a sideways glance and a small cough. She tilted her head to present her cheek to him. Sasuke bent down and kissed his mother on the cheek, his cheeks warmed to a pale shade of pink.

"Bye Sasuke. And good luck!"

Mikoto went back to chopping vegetables and listened carefully to the sound of her son's Jeep making it's way down the drive and out of the cul-de-sac. As soon as she was sure he wasn't coming back she slipped out of her house slippers and into a pair of her warmer fur lined boots.

Curiosity had gotten the best of her and she needed to know what her youngest son had been doing in the backyard. She found the bush Sasuke was squatted at earlier and ducked down to examine it. It appeared empty until she saw the corner of a brown paper envelope sticking out through the fencing in the back, creeping into the Haruno side of the fence.

 _What is that?_

"Okay, I'm in my backyard now."

Mikoto ducked behind her bush when she heard the back door to the Haruno house swing open and Sakura talking. She sat completely still on the ground in a spot she was sure Sakura wouldn't be able to see her.

"The bush? Which one exactly?"

Mikoto heard the crunching of the frozen grass underneath Sakura's feet. The sound she made sounded louder as she got closer to Mikoto's hiding spot and then stopped. There was a rustling sound of something being yanked out of the bush's branches and then a light giggling sound.

"Sneaky. I like it. Did you find your tomatoes? Yeah I got Naruto to open up your locker."

There was a pause and then a ripping sound. Mikoto assumed that Sakura was opening the package.

"Aww. You made me mix CDs! That's so cute. You shut up. I can call you cute and things you do cute if I want to. You're _super_ cute."

Mikoto bit her lip to contain the giggle that wanted to escape. She could picture her son's scowling face on the other line. It was starting to dawn on her that the package was a Valentine's Day gift. She clapped a hand over her mouth when the urge to squeal almost took over. The cherry tomatoes were his Valentine's Day gift from Sakura! It was a cute thing that Sakura had done in the past and it made her feel giddy to now know that the tradition had carried on.

"I'll listen to them later. What kind of music did you put on them?" The sound of crunching frozen grass returned and Sakura's voice started to sound far away. "I'll slap you next time I see you if it's all songs you've played while we've had sex Sasuke Uchiha. What do you mean _some_ of them!?"

Mikoto started to choke on air and her face flushed with heat. What was originally just a cute moment took a sudden turn on her. As soon as she was sure Sakura was back in her house she stood up and dusted herself off.

She walked back into her house and took off her boots and exchanged them for her house slippers. Mikoto returned to the kitchen and washed her hands before resuming her task of chopping vegetables. After a moment of trying to act normal she cracked and let out a squeal and a giggle of joy.

 _Sasuke has a girlfriend!_

Mikoto hid her face in her hands, overwhelmed with how happy she was. She was so worried that Sasuke wasn't enjoying his high school years and now she had proof that he was experiencing at least a little bit of happiness.

That's all she wanted for her children. For them to be happy.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _**another long chapter. I wanted this out sooner but I've been sick and my sister had her graduation ceremony yesterday. I cried y'all. My family was happy but I was the only one that got so emotional that I cried. It was a combination of being happy that I'm alive to witness one of her moments and pride. She's my little bean and she made it. She did so well guys.**_

 _ **I have a really hard time saying what I feel and one of the ways I conveyed my feelings to my ex is through music and letters and poems and letting him read my diary which honestly all my entries read like poems…and I feel like Real Life AU Sasuke would be similar. Hard to say how he feels but able to find another alternative. So I had him make a mix CD. I love mix CDs. It's the fastest way to my heart. If you guys want to check it out, I did make a playlist on Spotify called Kingdom For Two. You can find it on my Tumblr under the tag**_ **kft ref** _**and**_ **kingdom for two** _ **. You can also search for it on Spotify. The user name is a variation of my real name (not my real name!) which is Day Cruz.**_

 _ **If you have any questions about why I chose certain songs on the playlist you can always ask me for a detailed explanation through PM. I'm not going to do it in the Author's Notes because I could talk FOREVER.**_

 _ **Next chapter will have more Mikoto POV.**_

 **New Note: I just noticed how UGLY this fic looks on the desktop version of FF. Like...really disgusting, especially when it's long. I always read on my phone and use my phone to check FF so I never really picked up on that. So does anyone read this fic on their desktop? I'll try and clean up this fic with more spaces or something if it really bothers you all.**


	15. Confrontations And Requests

**Chapter Fifteen: Confrontations And Requests**

Out of both of her pregnancies, Itachi was the easiest. Even going into labor was a pleasant and quick experience. Mikoto joked that Itachi had decided that he was going to come out on his own terms. With no effort on her part, Itachi pushed himself out on June 9th in the early hours of the day.

He was a small but healthy baby. He only cried when dirty or hungry but he was fine with being left alone for long periods, never caring if he was being held or not.

Seven months later, Itachi was walking. Proper walking, not the waddling of toddlers with chubby legs, and he was climbing out of his crib, ready to take on the world. Fugaku found it amusing, calling him a little genius. It just made Mikoto sad. She saw it as a premonition. Itachi was ready to escape the confines of his mother's nurturing and be his own person. He didn't need anyone nor did he care for them.

Until he was five and Sasuke was born.

Sasuke was the opposite. Mikoto was tired more often and he kicked like crazy, always making his presence known. He was born the evening of July 23rd, after making his mother go through a lengthy labor. He almost didn't make it. The umbilical cord was wrapped around Sasuke, almost strangling him if it weren't for the placement of his left arm. The doctor had to dislocate his poor little arm in order to get him out safely.

Mikoto couldn't put him down unless he was sleeping─if she could get him to sleep─ and it was like he could sense in his sleep if she walked too far from his location. He would wake up screaming until his little face turned red and thrash his arms around and kick his legs out.

Itachi was the biggest help. Sasuke would stop crying the moment he felt his brother pulling him into his arms. He would murmur softly as Itachi hummed to him, unable to sing any of Mikoto's lullabies. Itachi would rock his brother in his swing as they both sat in a corner of the kitchen, not far from their mother.

Not far from their mother until Itachi grew more confident in the way he could care and watch over his brother. He would wander around the house and yards carrying Sasuke in front of him in a baby wrap carrier, even going as far as visiting the Harunos next door. It always fascinated him how the pink haired baby would chirp as soon as he was nearby and the way she would gurgle happily and her hazy green eyes would twinkle with mirth when he brought Sasuke to her.

Mebuki would lie Sasuke next Sakura and Sasuke would mumble a little and lift hooded sleepy eyes towards his crib mate and then close his eyes in peace. Itachi would watch the babies as he ate whatever sweet treat Mebuki offered him that day until Mikoto picked him and Sasuke up.

Sometimes Sasuke would protest, giving them soft cries of discomfort until Mebuki either packed Sakura's diaper bag and joined the Uchihas for the rest of the day or handed Sakura off to Mikoto so that the two infants could nap together in the Uchiha home.

It was a nice peaceful first three months with Sasuke. That is until Naruto Uzumaki was born. He joined the other two babies, causing them all to get into shouting matches with his loud random outbursts for attention. Sakura would crawl away or lift herself off the ground with whatever she could reach to try and toddle away from him and his cries. She would fall only a few steps into her attempts, not quite ready for walking yet.

Mikoto wondered if she would have been an early walker like Itachi if Sakura weren't so attached to Sasuke. She never seemed interested in crawling too far if it meant Sasuke couldn't follow. Mikoto burst into a fit of giggles once watching a baby Sakura take her first few steps in her home and then look back at Sasuke still on the ground. She dropped to her bottom instantly and then crawled back.

When Sakura was ten months, Mebuki told Mikoto she could walk fine. It was only in the Uchiha house that she didn't walk. So it didn't surprise Mikoto that when Sasuke was ten months old and stumbling around that Sakura was walking with a toddler type of grace, leading him by the hand. Sasuke would hold on tight, only letting go when Itachi came home from school or taekwondo.

Mikoto joked to herself that it was too early, much too early for girls. Sakura couldn't win when it came to Sasuke's older brother. And she never dared to wonder if one day that would change. It was almost too much of a fantasy, love between neighbors.

Too much of a fantasy but one she wouldn't have minded if it played out.

Mikoto snuck glances at her youngest son as he sat at the kitchen island, peeking down at his phone every now and then. Sasuke would type out a text, phone cradled protectively in his hands.

She had so many questions but she didn't know the best way to approach him. How did one talk to their closed off teenage son? Mikoto never had any luck with Itachi and the downside of puberty was how it seemed to take her youngest away from her as well. What would she even address first?

 _How long have you liked Sakura Haruno?_

 _Is this a recent thing? When did you start dating?_

 _Are you making sure to practice safe sex? Do you use condoms? Please, for the love of all that is holy in the world, please tell me you are nothing but a gentleman and─_

"Mom?"

Mikoto was brought out of her thoughts by Sasuke's concerned voice. She looked up from the tomato she was chopping for him, a small reward for finishing his lunch, and saw his eyebrows furrowed in worry and slight confusion.

"Here you go, Sasuke." Mikoto salted the slices and dumped them into a small bowl before handing them over. Sasuke took the bowl from her reluctantly. Mikoto smiled at his pout as he ate. It was such a small thing but there was always a pleasant warmth around him when he got his favorite snack.

It was what she use to get him to cheer him up. It had the same effectiveness of a bandage. It covered the problem for the moment but it was still there.

Which was exactly what was going on right at this moment. Mikoto needed to say something, anything, to her son.

"How's school?" Mikoto inwardly cringed at the generic question. "You think you'll make the honor roll again this quarter?"

Sasuke blinked at her. He stared at her, silent, for what seemed like eons before he finally said anything.

"It's fine. And yes."

Short simple answers. Eyes downcast, Mikoto started to clean the island of the mess she had made chopping the tomato.

"My friends─"

Mikoto's head whipped up fast, eyes wide and pleading for more words.

"─want to go on a trip for Spring Break. Camping. Can I go?"

"Of course!" Mikoto dumped her knife and cutting board into the sink. "Are you going to need anything? Well of course you will, duh! We have sleeping bags, tents, and a cooler in the garage. You'll have to dust those out. I'll wash the sleeping bags and the cooler. How much money do you think you'll need for the trip?"

"About that…"

Sasuke chewed on the corner of his lower lip and looked at his mother with upturned eyes. It was reminiscent to the look he gave her when he was younger and found stray kittens. The look where he wanted something he knew he couldn't have.

"I want to fund the trip on my own. I want to get a job."

"Oh."

Mikoto turned her back on him and rinsed the board and knife before sliding them into the dishwasher. It wasn't that outrageous of a request. What kind of a parent didn't want their child to become independent and show a sense of responsibility?

Mikoto. Mikoto was that parent. He wouldn't need her for cash and that was just another way he was slipping away. But a job could be good for Sasuke. He would be out more and he would be making his own money to buy things he wanted.

Pay for dates he might want to go on.

"I would have to talk to your father. You know he has that rule. No work until after graduation and only if it doesn't affect you when you start college." A _nd no dating until after graduation. From college even, if Fugaku had his way._

"Oh."

The sound of his disappointment was a knife to her heart. Was she really going to deny this? Was she really going to be complicit in her son's further downward spiral? It wasn't as if he was going to use the money to be buying ritalin or adderall. He just wanted to go camping and pay for it on his own.

And maybe even pay for future dates.

"I have a client. With a twelve year old daughter." Mikoto turned around and gave Sasuke an encouraging smile. "She wants piano lessons," Sasuke straightened up on his bar stool, "but she's pretty stubborn and hates all the instructors that go to her house. I could see if they're willing to give you a shot and how much the pay is. There shouldn't be anything wrong with giving a few lessons. And in the meantime, I'll try and convince your father that letting you get a job would be good for you."

"Okay."

Mikoto sighed. It was a wonder how her son even got a girlfriend with his conversation skills. But then again, Sakura Haruno seemed to have had a soft spot for her son since they were in diapers.

 _I can't even tease them about how cute they are._

It was obvious to Mikoto why Sasuke hadn't said anything. His father was so traditional and didn't think high schoolers should be pairing off and dating when they should be focusing on their studies. Although Mikoto grew up with parents that were traditional as well─her parents had introduced her to a twenty-one year old Fugaku and his family when she was sixteen in the hopes that the two of them would wed in the future─she didn't think there was anything wrong with dating when young. She loved her husband and her kids but sometimes she wondered if she and Fugaku would have married when she was so young if their courtship wasn't so formal.

"So who's going on the trip?"

"Naruto, his cousin Karin, Sai and his girlfriend, Sakura─"

"Girls are going on the overnight trip?"

"Yes. Sai insisted on bringing Yamanaka and then she insisted on bringing Sakura along. Aunt Kushina wants Karin and Naruto to spend more time together and the only way she would go is if the other two girls went. So it's kind of unavoidable."

Mikoto almost smirked at how casually Sasuke gave her the explanation. It was the most he said the entire day which was the only thing that gave him away with how forced his nonchalant attitude was coming across. She expected him to just tell her that it wouldn't be a big deal and that the conversation would end there.

"Suigetsu is coming because Karin is and Jūgo is going because he likes camping."

"Jūgo? Jūgo Sakaguchi?"

"It's the only Jūgo I know."

"I hope he has fun."

Mikoto was being honest. She really did hope he enjoyed himself. The poor child had been through so much when they had all gone to Oto. Fugaku had told her that the teacher that had been abusing him by locking him away whenever he had a manic episode had been arrested. Most of the abusive teachers at Oto were terminated and removed from the staff but that was one of the teachers she refused to believe anyone would condone the actions of and just quietly let them go.

She knew that Inoichi Yamanaka offered to help him with his bipolar disorder. He offered his services to all former Oto students, especially the boarding students, that had been neglected and their mental illnesses not taken seriously.

It made Mikoto's heart ache to think what could have possibly happened if her depressed child wasn't one of the students that returned home every day.

"Your hair is getting pretty long." Mikoto changed the subject. She was going to get as much conversation as she could. "It doesn't stick up anymore."

She walked around the island and fluffed the end of his short ponytail. He had the habit of tying it up when he was doing something like eating or working out. He had refused to let Izumi cut his hair except to give him long, comb swept bangs. Mikoto didn't like how Sasuke hid his face but she didn't argue if he liked the style.

"It's still pretty thick though."

Mikoto chuckled as she felt the ends of his ponytail. He was right. The thickness of his hair made his hair feel almost like a paintbrush when she brushed it along her palm. His hair did have a healthy shine to it and was pretty soft when let down though. Izumi had gotten into the habit of bringing in hair products she was becoming fond of at school for the Uchihas to try for themselves.

"Are you going to grow it out as long as Itachi's hair?"

"No. Just didn't want it to stick up anymore. And I wasn't going to buzz my hair short." Sasuke got up and rinsed his bowl, stuffing it into the dishwasher. "I'm going to my room. I have homework."

"Okay."

Mikoto stood alone in her kitchen feeling conflicted. She was elated that Sasuke spoke with her, but it just wasn't enough.

* * *

After sitting at his desk doing paperwork for six hours, all Itachi wanted to do was go to sleep. His back hurt, his legs hurt, his ass hurt, and his brain was dead. His eyes were starting to cross from staring at the computer monitor all day.

 _One more hour. One more hour and I can go home and take a percocet and knock out until tomorrow morning. Maybe I'll let Mother massage my legs._

Itachi grabbed the reports he was busy transferring into a digital format and filed them away in their boxes. On days that he wasn't feeling well enough to interact with people, he typed up the written reports of the week. A lot of the older staff members still didn't work with computers but it made it harder to search for reports if everyone had to rifle through cabinets and boxes.

Itachi grabbed his next box and pulled out officer reports for the day. He looked down and sighed. The only thing he was able to read was the officer's information at top. He rifled through the rest of the files and noticed the same trend of illegible content. Itachi packed the box up and made his way out of his cubicle to the pod of desks.

As soon as he reached Taiko's empty desk he dumped the box on top of it. He stared at the desk for a moment. He was in pain and irritated and everything he was feeling had bottled up and couldn't be contained in his state. He turned away from the desk and headed to the back office, throwing the door open and slamming it shut behind him.

Fugaku looked up, eyes widening a fraction at the intrusion.

"How low will you go Father?"

"I beg pardon?" Fugaku pushed the papers he was looking through away from him and braced his hands on the desk. He looked up at Itachi, giving him his undivided attention.

"What is your problem with the Harunos? What is your problem with Sakura Haruno, a little girl?" Itachi seethed. "Taiko, Father? He's vile and I am surprised you even allow him to work here."

"What does Taiko have to do with Sakura Haruno?" Fugaku's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Itachi opened his mouth and then closed it. He was taken aback at how confused his father was.

"He's been following her around." Fugaku's eyes went wide. "Shisui caught him harassing her at the mall. He stalked her and then claimed she was shoplifting when he was confronted. He followed her around for hours. Taiko was targeting her and I want to know why."

Fugaku was silent for a moment. There was a flash of something across his face that Itachi could only describe as disappointment before his mouth settled into a hard line.

"I was unaware of this," he said softly. Itachi could hear the honesty in his voice and could see it in his expression. His father wasn't a liar. But he was too frustrated and continued on.

"I find that hard to believe. You have Sasuke followed." Itachi watches his father sigh and rub his temple with his index finger and thumb.

"That's because I'm worried. I wanted him followed by Shisui because he was someone that would steer him away from trouble but cared enough about him to be gentle and not try to arrest your brother if he saw him doing something he shouldn't be. But Shisui gave him too much leeway and there was time that couldn't be accounted for. But I didn't ask for anyone to interfere with Sakura Haruno's life."

"Sasuke wants to be a cop when he finishes school. He wants to eventually be a detective. He knows better and you're being way too hard on him."

"You're so soft with your brother." Fugaku brushed a knuckle on a photo frame on his desk. Itachi couldn't see what the photo was from where he was standing. "I don't want him to fall into the same habits he did when he was in Oto."

"He's better," Itachi said firmly. "But you know that it wasn't completely his fault, right Father?"

Fugaku averted his gaze, narrowing his eyes at a spot on the area rug in his office. Itachi took a moment to breathe deeply as he watched his father's tense expression. He sometimes forgot that raising his voice and getting angry made him even more tired, made it harder to breathe, and made his heart race painfully.

"He was stressed. He is stressed." Itachi took a shuddering breath and closed his eyes. "He has anxiety and clinical depression and you're stressing him out. You need to let him be seventeen. That involves fun with friends and getting his first job and falling in─"

"No." Fugaku snapped out of his daze and stood up, glaring at Itachi. He braced his hands on his desk and leaned forward. "He is too young and he doesn't know what is good for him yet. We're not discussing that."

"Why do you hate her so much? Sakura's the kindest and brightest─"

"She is." Fugaku nodded in agreement. "She is a sweet and smart girl. And she doesn't deserve the mistreatment she's been receiving from someone of our department but she isn't the right _fit_ for your younger brother. It's better if he figures that out now."

"What does being the _right fit_ mean to you?" Itachi's throat started to ache. His chest constricted painfully. He had to remind himself that he was talking about Sakura and Sasuke. "What about feelings? Shouldn't that matter? Did you marry Mother because she was the 'right fit'? Did she match your criteria so you made her your wife? Young woman to stay home and care for your house and children?"

"Watch yourself Itachi." Fugaku's eyes flashed with anger. Itachi stared deeply into the deep deep brown, almost black, of the eyes that matched his own. "Do not talk about your mother that way."

"That was uncalled for," Itachi agreed. He tried to take another calming breath but he ended up gagging on air. Tears welled in the corners of his eyes from the pain of breathing. "I shouldn't have," Itachi wheezed, "brought her into this."

Fugaku's face softened and he walked around his desk. He placed a hand on his son's back and rubbed circles. He muttered softly to Itachi, telling him to relax and that he was there, just to breathe, just focus on breathing.

"You should go home. Shisui should be finishing his patrol soon. He'll take you home."

Itachi sat down in one of the chairs in his father's office wheezing and mentally cursing his body.

How was he going to get anything done if his body was fighting against him?

* * *

Mentally drained, Sasuke collapsed on his bed. Girls were hard enough to deal with, twelve year old bratty girls that would rather bat their eyelashes at him instead of learning how to play the piano properly were even worse. At least he had job security. He was sure his mother's client would face hell if they tried to get rid of him.

Sasuke's cell phone chirped but he refused to move to reach it. He just wanted to lie down and relax for a moment. It chirped two more times but he ignored it. He could deal with whatever the texts were in a moment. He was starting to get sleepy when his ringtone went off.

"What?" Sasuke huffed out in irritation.

"Rude. I'll talk to you later."

"Wait, what?" The phone clicked and Sasuke entered his passcode to call Sakura back. Finally looking down at his phone he noticed that the messages were from her. He dialed Sakura's number and put it on speaker. He walked into his closet to grab clothes to relax in and opened up the text messages. He almost dropped his phone when the images popped up on his screen.

"Are you going to be polite now?"

"Uh…" Sasuke's eyes were drawn to the bare, lightly freckled shoulders on his phone's screen. Sakura had sent him a photo of her sitting on her vanity, taking a picture of herself and the reflection of her back. His eyes dropped down to the lower curve of her back. Sheer mesh shorts were the only thing in his way from looking at her lush, lush─

"Sasuke? Are you still there?"

"I think so," he mumbled. He scrolled down to the next photo. Sakura was lying on her back on her bed, waving at him. The straps were falling off of her shoulders but it made no difference if her top fell loose. It wasn't as if it were doing anything to preserve her modesty. He didn't even bother to look at the next photo.

Sasuke turned speaker off and closed his messages.

"You know I can't keep these on my phone, right?"

"They were more like an invitation. Neither of our parents are home right now. But I'm actually really tired...maybe I should just take a nap."

"Uh-huh." Sasuke almost snorted at the teasing lilt in Sakura's voice. He changed out of his long sleeve shirt and put on a random shirt from his shelf. He then slipped out of his jeans and into a pair of basketball shorts. He went into his bathroom and put on more deodorant and tied his hair up neater. "A nap would be good."

"A nap would be good for the both of us. We should both take a nap. Maybe even take a nap together?"

"I'll be there in a sec."

Sasuke headed down the stairs, taking them two at a time. He sent a text to his mother that he wasn't going to be home when she came back from her errands because he went for a run. Checking to make sure the coast was clear he made his way to the Haruno's backdoor and walked into the den. He knew from experience that if both of their families weren't home that she would leave that door unlocked for him.

Once he was in the safety of the Haruno home he relaxed his posture and moved more casually. Sasuke always acted like that when it came to sex, acted as if he could take it or leave it. He continued to act that way even though Sakura could see right through him because she let him do it. Sasuke was sure she found amusement from they way he so easily came undone when they were alone after acting nonchalant about their activities.

"Hey." Sasuke found Sakura sitting on the edge of her bed, biting her lower lip through a nervous smile. He sat down next to her, hands in his lap. There was a weird aura around them, almost like how they were after their first sexual encounter.

"Hi." Sasuke's neck heated up, embarrassment taking over. He felt sixteen all over again. Sasuke fingered one of Sakura's straps, hooking his pinky under it. "So what's up with this?"

"Hm? Oh, I just wanted to do something different." Sakura tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Nervous habit. "Got new pajamas. What do you think?"

Sasuke snorted at the word 'pajamas'. The flimsy mesh material couldn't constitute as any sort of sleepwear. He turned to Sakura and easily pulled her onto his lap so that she was straddling him. He pressed a kiss to the hollow of her throat and then down her sternum. With his hands on her back, he pushed her even closer to him, suckling on her breast through the mesh. Sasuke pulled away when Sakura let out sound between a whimper and a whine.

"These aren't pajamas. I wouldn't be able to see this if they were." Sasuke took two fingers and stroked Sakura through the mesh, his actions pushing pale pink hair against the sheer white fabric. "It's more like...pretty gift wrap? Special occasion? Your birthday's the only thing close enough and it isn't even for another two weeks."

"It's just been a while and I thought it would be nice," Sakura murmured. "Don't I look cute?"

Cute would have been putting it mildly. Cute was a more accurate word to use for her reasoning behind dressing up or dressing down in the case at hand. Sasuke knew she was aiming more for sexy but that still wasn't the right adjective. It was...too crude of a word in Sasuke's opinion. The warmth in his chest from how much effort Sakura put into this moment wouldn't allow for the word.

Beautiful. Sasuke would have to say that Sakura was beautiful. With flushed red cheeks and dusty rose hair tumbling over creamy shoulders, she was the most wondrous sight he ever laid his eyes on. Green, greener than green, eyes staring down at him with complete adoration had everything to do with the feeling of wanting to be closer than their bodies allowed.

Sakura leaned her forehead against his, their eyelashes brushing against each other. Her pouty pink lips parted slightly as she looked into his eyes. She cupped his neck with her hands, rubbing her thumbs along his jawline. Sakura pressed a gentle kiss to his mouth and Sasuke reciprocated, allowing their kisses to remain slow no matter how heated he got with the lazy manner her tongue swirled against his.

Sasuke slid his hands underneath her camisole feeling how her stomach clenched when his fingers ghosted on her skin. Sasuke smiled against her lips and Sakura made a small whining sound. In retaliation she mirrored his actions, her small hands causing his stomach muscles to tense.

"You have way too many clothes on." Sakura tugged his shirt over his head and then giggled. "Your hair's a mess now."

Sakura removed his hair tie and massaged his scalp, gently scraping it with her blunt nails. Sasuke's hands slid down to the band of her shorts and he snapped at the elastic. Sakura clicked her tongue and stood up to remove the shorts. She got back onto the bed, pulling on Sasuke's hand to get him to lie down with her.

"Touch me?" Sakura pleaded. She reached over and palmed Sasuke's crotch rubbing him through his shorts. Sasuke nodded and reached between her thighs to stroke at the velvet softness of her nether lips. He went at a slow pace until Sakura pulled his cock out of his shorts and began to stroke him. He slipped his ring and middle fingers inside of her and thrusted at the same pace she stroked him.

"Enough," Sasuke panted, pulling Sakura's hand away from him. She pouted when he stopped her from having her fun but gasped when Sasuke fondled her little bundle of nerves with his thumb.

"You're so unfair," Sakura sobbed between her moans. She buried her face into his arm, squeezing his bicep with her hands, nails digging into his flesh.

"Deal with it." Sasuke kissed her again to swallow her cry as she came on his hand. He sat up on his knees and helped Sakura sit up to help her remove her camisole. He got off of the bed to remove his shorts and as soon he got them off, Sakura was sitting on the edge of the bed again, pulling him towards her by the hips.

Sakura gave him a saucy wink and then gripping him with one hand, licked him from the his base all the way up his shaft. She swirled her tongue around his tip and gave it a long suck before letting him go with a loud pop!

"I want you now. How about you?" Sakura scooted back on her bed and beckoned him to join her with a finger.

"You get really impatient." Sasuke settled himself between her thighs and propped himself up with his forearms on either side of her head. Instead of doing what she wanted, Sasuke grinded his hips against her hips, rubbing his cock against her, and went back to kissing her, tracing his tongue on the parts of her mouth that gave him the most reactions. He dragged his tongue slowly along her frenulum and the roof of her mouth behind her teeth.

Sakura whimpered into his mouth and sank her fingers into his thick hair, tugging on it, trying to pull him closer to her than he already was. She slid her legs up his and wrapped them around his waist.

"You're being kind of gentle today." Sakura narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. Sasuke chuckled inwardly, knowing that it was throwing her off. He was only ever gentle when he was sleepy.

"It's been a while and I thought it would be nice," Sasuke teased her. Sakura opened her mouth to retort but let a low moan when he sank into her at that exact moment. He began a slow and steady pace with his thrusts and Sakura let out a frustrated huff.

"It's going to be like that today isn't it?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Sasuke continued to rock slowly against Sakura. Sakura's brows furrowed in confusion but soon enough her expression melted into one of pleasure as Sasuke made his thrusts deeper despite the slow pace. It would be easy to take her hard and fast, especially when there was no chance of anyone hearing them no matter how loud they were. But it felt like he needed to be gentle and sweet. Like how Sakura was.

"Let's just take our time. There's nothing or anyone for us to worry about right now." Sasuke snaked his hand down Sakura's arm, taking her hand in his and interlocked their fingers. Sakura squeezed his hand and nodded.

Sasuke adjusted their position so that he could mold his body with Sakura's better. Sakura followed his lead and hooked her arms under his and around his back, pulling him down closer to her. There was a slight look of frustration on her face as she clung to him, pushing his body more towards her. She gnawed at her lower lip and looked up at him with eyes full of desperation.

Sasuke guessed he wasn't the only one frustrated with how that was as close as they physically could be.

He pulled back and sat up. Sakura scrambled to sit on his lap and he helped guide his cock inside of her. She sighed contently when he filled her up again and began to grind down on him. Sasuke helped her move by guiding with his hands on her hips. He slid his hands down to her ass and cupped it, squeezing it and pushing her closer to him so that her breasts rubbed up against his chest.

After a beat, Sakura decided to take the lead, pulling herself up and back down on his length, gradually picking up a faster pace. She gripped onto Sasuke's shoulder until she no longer could hold back and wrapped her arms around his neck to give him a fierce kiss that was all tongue and teeth.

Thrown off by the new aggressive tone to the act, Sasuke fell onto his back, Sakura falling with him and bumping their heads together.

"Ow…" Sakura frowned and rubbed her forehead. Sasuke grunted and rubbed his jaw. Sakura bit her lip but it did nothing to hide the fact that she was smiling. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her and she giggled. "My bad?"

"We aren't in any rush, Sakura." Sasuke wrapped his arms around her waist and Sakura settled against him, snuggling against his chest. "We can take our time."

"Right."

They lied like that for a moment in silence until Sasuke cleared his throat.

"It doesn't mean we can't continue."

"R-right!" Sakura sat up and braced her hands on his chest. She went into the slow grinding pace she enjoyed and Sasuke let her have the lead. "Let's just take our time. We're the only ones we have to worry about."

"Exactly. Just us."

* * *

Sasuke kicked off his tennis shoes and lined them up on the rack in the front hall closet. He was out a lot longer than he intended and didn't want to do anything that could upset his mother even more.

It was obvious how his mother wanted for him to open up more like how he use to but it was much more difficult now than when he was a pre-teen. There was something that made it harder to talk to her freely. Something that gnawed at Sasuke's insides. He wasn't even sure he deserved any of her attention. What in his life was more difficult than what was going on with Itachi? Nothing. So it made more sense for everyone to allocate any care or free time to his older brother.

Right?

"That was a long run."

Sasuke stood up and closed the closet door only to see his mother standing in the middle of the foyer with her hands on her hips. There was a wrinkle between her eyebrows that Sasuke came to associate with her being upset more than any other form of body language.

"I got caught up in the trails and ended up near the Cherrydale neighborhood," Sasuke supplied, having already come up with a probable distance he could have run. "Got tired and walked most of the way back."

Mikoto took a few steps towards him until she was close enough to reach over and pinched at the shoulder of Sasuke's shirt. She plucked something off of it and held it up to him.

Sasuke's eyes widened as his mother held up a long, pale strand of pink hair in front of his face. His mother's face was blank but she balled up the hair in her fist.

"You should go wash up for dinner."

Sasuke swallowed hard and nodded. He started to make his way up the stairs when his mother called out to him.

"I wish you would trust me more. Talked to me more."

 _Me too._

Sasuke continued up the stairs, not sure if he wanted to look back and see what kind of expression his mother was wearing on her face.

* * *

Mikoto couldn't help but be jealous of her friend Kushina. Mikoto had two sons and neither one of them had a close relationship with her. There were no secrets between Kushina and Naruto but it seemed like that was all there was between her and her own children.

She knew Fugaku was strict and overbearing at times but did her sons really find it that difficult to separate their parental figures apart from each other? Wasn't she always the gentle one of the two? The easiest to approach?

In the case of Itachi, he had always been withdrawn, but when he was nineteen and needed to see a doctor for his various ailments he at least confided in his mother.

When Sasuke became withdrawn she had to rifle through pamphlets and books to find out what was going on with her young teen. If it wasn't for her insistence that he see a therapist, he would have talked to no one.

But what was the likelihood that perhaps he had a confidant in Sakura? Unless she misconstrued the nature of their relationship and it wasn't as emotionally intimate as she would hope.

Her youngest son being just a hormonal teen was not something she had bothered to contemplate. It would have been out of character. And not a single one of her memories from when the kids were younger led her to believe that Sasuke wouldn't care for Sakura deeply.

One of her favorite memories was the flustered look on his face when he gave Sakura Haruno a bouquet of daffodils. She thought it was an unusual choice until she saw how brightly Sakura's face lit up. They were obviously her favorite.

It reminded Mikoto of Fugaku and how he use to bring her potted plants when he was courting her. His mother looked so disappointed when he handed over the first pot of succulents but they made her so happy. Mikoto didn't like cuts of flowers. Bouquets withered and died but she could continue to nurture any potted plant she received. Different but perfect for her. And obviously a sign of effort in getting to know her.

She wasn't just a girl introduced to him by his parents. Mikoto felt like so much more than that. So she continued to let him come over to her house and talk to her.

Almost all of the house plants in the Uchiha home were potted plants Fugaku brought home to her or had delivered if they were too large. If he continued to bring her more it would appear as if they were living in a rainforest.

Mikoto sighed and closed her book. She looked over at her husband who was reading over some documents while he sat on the edge of their bed. Smiling to herself, she slid behind him and began to massage his shoulders.

"Mikoto?" Fugaku turned to face her, startled at the sudden act of intimacy.

"You're doing it again. No work in the bedroom, remember?" She placed a kiss to his nape and he sighed, tossing the forms onto the nightstand on his side of their bed. "A difficult case?"

"That would be easier. I have to suspend Taiko indefinitely."

"Ryuichi's son?" Mikoto frowned at the mention of Fugaku's friend's son.

"Yes. Him."

Mikoto could feel his muscles relax under her hands and smiled to herself. Her husband was such a tense man. She wasn't giving him as much attention as she probably should be but she was so preoccupied with what was going on with her sons. There was a slight drift between the couple after Itachi was hospitalized. They acted like partners more often than husband and wife.

"I feel bad about this but I will have to add to your stress." Mikoto paused in her massage and placed a hand on her husband's shoulder, willing him to turn to face her. Fugaku removed his reading glasses and covered her hand with his own.

"What is it?"

"Sasuke wants to apply for a job and I think we should let him." Fugaku sighed and Mikoto quickly spoke up again to cut of whatever retort he had. "It would be good for him! He's so antisocial and this would help him interact with other people."

"He should focus on school. He can wait until after graduation."

"That won't be for another few months. Please reconsider," Mikoto implored. Her hand slid off of his shoulder and into her lap. She stared at the lines in her palms and said softly, "He never asks me for anything anymore. This is the first thing he's wanted that he's actually voiced in a long time.

"Mikoto…"

"He'll grow up and move out and his memory of home will be that his mother didn't care enough to help him with the one thing he asked of her when he was seventeen. How sad would that be, Fugaku?"

A strong hand cupped the side of Mikoto's neck and she gazed up at her husband. His lips were pursed as he stared off into space, deep in thought. After a beat he sighed in defeat.

"He can apply for jobs but, and this is important, he must first clear where he's applying to with me and as soon as his grades start slipping he has to quit."

"Okay." Mikoto pressed a kiss to the palm of his hand and smiled sweetly at her husband.

"Let's go to sleep."

"Yes. Good night, dear."

"Good night."

Mikoto pulled up her duvet to her chest and folded her arms beneath her breasts. She blinked away a happy tear, glad that there would be something to discuss with Sasuke about the following day.

* * *

 **Author's Note: _The power went out last night and my laptop died. It was awful. No AC in this heat? And sadly this was something that happened multiple times last summer. So I expect a repeat._**

 _ **I used my own mother's experiences with me for Mikoto's with Itachi. A nurse helped deliver me because apparently I was coming out whether my mom pushed or not. (my younger brother was the one that needed his arm dislocated because of the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and body. He was also a needy baby. Not so much a toddler but a very needy baby.) And then I started walking normally at seven months. My mom called me an escape artist and had to push my crib against her bed because she was afraid that I would hurt myself climbing out.**_

 _ **She found it odd how easily I picked up things but refused to talk until my younger brother was born when I was three. I spoke in one word sentences before that if I needed to. It worried her. I was always bad with people until my younger sibling were born. My mom said I use to drag my baby brother everywhere, just pull on his carseat and bring him wherever I wanted us to go.**_

 _ **I almost wanted a fight between Mikoto and Fugaku but maybe later…**_

 _ **Yes, if it hasn't been hinted at enough, Sasuke has clinical depression. I wasn't being in your face about it so if it hasn't been caught don't feel bad. If you read through (or just remember) he has insomnia, lack of appetite, lost of interest in hobbies (playing the guitar) just to name a few.**_

 _ **I sort of wanted it to reflect the arguments my parents get about me being mentally ill. My mother has more of an understanding of depression and everything because she had postpartum after my younger brother while when I was younger my dad thought it was something I just needed to get the fuck over. So look forward to that possibly happening.**_

 _ **Poor Itachi. I feel bad when I do stuff to him sometimes but that's how I get when I try to get into arguments. Yelling and getting really mad is the worst because my body just cuts me off if I try to express myself. The whole racing heart and how you stop breathing when you talk kind of escaped me as a thing that could seriously affect anyone before I got really ill. It's a good thing I'm more passive aggressive than confrontational I guess.**_

 _ **It is a good way to end arguments in my family though. Just threaten everyone with another ER visit if everyone doesn't shut up.**_

 _ **I didn't want to bring this up but I'm going to:**_ dear guest that I can't reply to through PM after Cherry Smiles, please tell the thousands of little girls and boys that are struggling with deciphering their feelings for their best friends and their sexual and romantic orientations that it's not realistic for their first love to be their best friend of the same sex. This really bothered me. Having same sex feelings isn't just reserved for teens and adults. Kids have crushes all of the time. Poor little girls are then forced to ignore those feelings because society tells them it's odd and the normal thing is to have crushes on boys. They then have to try and force themselves to pursue relationships with boys and men because of "societal norms". I know this is just fanfic and kids shouldn't be reading this fic but if more and more people realize this then it will have a trickle down effect and kids won't have to feel so lost and alone and be told that what they feel is wrong.

Plus, I always thought of Shikamaru and Ino's relationship to be like Sakura and Naruto's: like siblings. They both give the feel of naggy older sister for their respective boys. Because despite Naruto's one-sided feelings his relationship with Sakura was not of the romantic nature. At all.

Also...what do you mean what does Sakura have that makes everyone want her? In canon she and Sasuke are the only ones that have multiple people interested in them…

 ** _Okay enough ranting. I'm going to be focusing on the next chapter of TPOAM so the next update for that should be out soon. That means I might not update KFT until after that chapter gets down. It should still be within the week._**


	16. Aren't Trips For Getting Away

**Chapter Sixteen: Aren't Trips For Getting Away From Our Problems?**

Itachi scrolled through his news app and sighed. Izumi was going to be running late to pick him up. He hated driving into the more urban area of Konoha and usually stuck to the more suburban parts of his neighborhood and of the center known as J-Town, but unfortunately the hospital and the doctors offices he visited were all located in the urban district.

He and his family had a preference for Konoha Hospital Center which happened to be the affiliated hospital for Hashirama Senju University. His father use to mumble his distaste for it. The Uchiha family were known to dislike the other founding family of Konoha despite the fact that there really were no Senju left, with the exception of Doctor Tsunade Senju, a Professor of Medicine and Division Director for Hematology and Oncology.

If she had taken her late husband's surname of Kato, Itachi was sure his father wouldn't even have acknowledged that she was a Senju.

"Waiting for a ride?"

Itachi looked up from his phone and saw his friend, Shin Kondo, smiling down at him with a cup of coffee from the hospital's coffee stand. Itachi smiled up at him and scooted down the bench to make room for him.

"Yeah."

"Girlfriend or boyfriend this time?"

"The girlfriend. She got held up in a session about blunt bangs apparently. She's been itching to practice that on a real person and I'm sure she'll convince my mother soon."

"Those are the kind that go straight across, right?" Shin held up a hand to his forehead and waved a cut across the top of his eyebrows. Itachi nodded and Shin chuckled. "I've seen a lot of girls with that type lately. I wonder if Sai's girlfriend will get them. She's got this long, covering one eye, kind of thing going on right now. She's got a helluva lot of hair that girl."

"How's the fibro?" Itachi put his phone away to give Shin all of his attention. He rarely got to hang out with him outside of sitting around the hospital as they waited for their appointments.

"Killing me. But the Lyrica is actually helping." Shin rifled through his messenger bag and pulled out a pill case and a bottle of water. "Speaking of, it's time for me to take it."

"Are you still going to the group therapy sessions?"

"Oh, yeah. I feel awful sometimes because it actually helps knowing there are people worse off than I am."

Itachi had first met Shin Kondo when he attended support meetings for people with chronic illnesses. They were some of the youngest members of their group and eventually would acknowledge each other's presence with slight head nods and waves. It wasn't until a little later on that Itachi realized that Shin looked vaguely familiar.

One day when he was in the waiting room for his rheumatology doctor, Shin greeted him excitedly and clasped a hand roughly on his shoulder. It turned out that the two of them had a few of the same doctors and that was why Itachi could remember seeing him elsewhere outside of meetings.

They began to talk and as they became friends they found out that they had younger brothers in the same grade and school. Through talking with Shin, Itachi found out that Sasuke had made friends with Sai.

"Why don't you go anymore?"

"I don't think group therapy is for me."

Itachi didn't feel as if he fit with his group or any other of the support groups. His family was rich and he had the privilege to have access to great medical care and to afford it all. It made him feel slight guilt to try and share any of his issues when there were people that were worse off than he was. Sure, he was very sick, sometimes more sick than the people that couldn't afford medication, but he had a better chance while it was likely they would just get worse without the medication they needed.

"Your hair is getting awfully long. Last time I saw you it was only skimming your shoulders. Maybe you should get Izumi to cut it for you."

"I like it long," Itachi laughed. "How about you? I noticed you gave up hiding the gray hairs and just dyed it all gray."

"Yeah I got tired of how streaky it looked. Sai keeps making fun of me. He keeps calling me Old Man." Itachi chuckled as Shin pouted.

"Do you two have any plans for Spring Break?"

"Nope. He's ditched me!" Shin slapped at his knee in playful frustration. "He's going on a camping trip with his friends. I'm actually glad. He use to worry me all of the time that he wouldn't make any friends."

"I use to think the same with Sasuke. He gives piano lessons and works in a music store now. So it seems like he's doing better."

They sat in companionable silence for a moment. Shin reminded Itachi of Naruto most of the time but unlike his younger brother's best friend, Shin was much more mature and knew when his companion needed quiet.

"How's everything with the loves? It's been, what, like five years now with the three of you?"

"Yes. And everything's great. It's so natural now that I can't believe how awkward it was in the beginning."

"Who was the brave soul that made it possible again?"

"Shisui," Itachi laughed. "And Izumi was the most hesitant. I was mostly confused. I almost ruined our relationships with each other."

"Heavy." Shin sighed and slumped lower onto the bench. He became instantly alert at the sound of a car approaching. "Oh, look it's the girlfriend."

"I'll see you later."

Itachi and Shin stood up from the bench. Itachi frowned in confusion and Shin laughed.

"I drove here. I was just waiting with you. Tell the loves I say hi."

Itachi chuckled once more and shook his head. It was always easy to talk with Shin. A sort of twisted sense of camaraderie because of their similar situations with being chronically ill and having a younger brother.

"Was that Shin? Nice dye job." Izumi asked when he slid into the passenger seat. Itachi let out a small sigh. The cushioning of the car's seat was like heaven after sitting on the hard bench. "You should have waited inside and sat in one of the armchairs."

"It's nice out." It was a cloudy and dry day. The sky was gray and there was a gentle breeze. It was a beautiful day for early April considering it was the rainiest month of the year. It was the kind of day Itachi could be outside and enjoy without risking overexposure to the sun. "Shin says hello to you and Shisui."

"Oh? And how's Shin?"

Out of the two, Izumi was more fond of Shin than Shisui was. He liked reigning the title of both significant other _and_ best friend and sometimes got grumpy when Shin was mentioned. Shisui could be supportive but he couldn't relate to Itachi the way Shin could.

"He's good. I think his brother might be on that camping trip Sasuke left to this morning."

"Oh, you mean the one that he almost wasn't able to go on when your father saw Sakura climbing into his Jeep."

"Yep. That one," Itachi grumbled. Luckily his mother got involved and rushed the kids away before his father could say anything. Mikoto had put on a cold demeanor and told Fugaku that there was nothing he could do to stop it since Sasuke was paying for his trip on his own and she had already given him permission as his mother to go and have fun.

Itachi didn't miss the flustered look on Sasuke's face when his mother had told Sasuke to have fun but to be safe and careful in all of his activities. Emphasis on the word all. He would have passed it off as her normal teasing if it weren't for the way she smiled slyly at Sakura who was loading her bags into the back of the Jeep.

The back of Sasuke's neck had turned bright red and his eye twitched when Mikoto skipped over to Sakura and handed her a carton of washed strawberries with the tops cut off. A road trip snack just for her considering Sasuke didn't like sweet things. Itachi had to hide on the other side of the Jeep for a moment to compose himself. It seemed as if the Uchiha matriarch had discovered Sasuke's little secret.

At least it was one that seemed to make her happy.

"He brought up our beginning today."

"Our beginning?"

"Yeah. The beginning of us. Of how we all got together."

"Ugh. Don't bring it up to Shisui," Izumi muttered. Her pretty brows furrowed in annoyance. "He'll get all smug about being right that it would work out and it's annoying. He's better off when he's his dorky self."

"I thought you liked when he was smug," Itachi teased. Izumi's cheeks burned hot pink.

"That's in bed. And so do you!"

Now it was Itachi's turn to have heat build up on his face. Izumi and Itachi were the sweet and gentle type─although Izumi had her moments, her gift to the two of them, or more to _herself_ , on Valentine's Day was a good example of that─while Shisui was more assertive. It was at odds with his usual happy-go-lucky, puppy like demeanor but it worked for him.

"I'm still surprised that it doesn't bother you that he was with other people before us."

Izumi glanced out of the driver's side window. They were stopped at a red light and she couldn't distract herself with the road but Itachi knew there would be a slight mist to her eyes. It was a small insecurity that Itachi never faulted her for. It was something neither of them ever voiced out loud in front of Shisui since their first initial fight that had started their polyamorous relationship.

"But he's ours now. Remember, he took a big risk confessing to the both of us."

"You mean to you," Izumi mumbled. Itachi sighed and grasped her chin between his thumb and index finger and turned her face towards him.

"And then you. Just because it came after doesn't make it less important. It's not like you had shown interest in him to begin with."

"Because he was a flirt, Itachi. How was I supposed to take any of it seriously? I mean yeah, it's fine now but it was off putting then. I thought he was joking and just making fun of me."

When Itachi and Izumi had started to date instead of fumbling around each other it had left Shisui out or playing third wheel. Before Itachi and Izumi could put any label on their relationship Shisui had come out and confessed his feelings for Itachi who was already feeling confused as it was with how it would work out for him being in a relationship with someone that was allosexual.

It didn't help that along with his romantic feelings for Izumi growing throughout the years that there was a weird sort of fuzzy feeling in his chest for Shisui that had nothing to do with being friends or him taking on the "older brother" role he had tried to take when they were younger.

Izumi had caught them kissing and was hurt. Itachi felt guilty for being indecisive but then Shisui had caught them all off guard.

" _I love you too!"_ Shisui had shouted at a heartbroken Izumi before she could run off. In her shock she just stood there, mouth gaping open. " _I love you too but you only ever see Itachi."_

And then Itachi was the one left there in shock as the two people he loved had to come to terms with the fact that one of them was in love with the other and the other wasn't willing to believe it. In the end, Shisui was somehow able to convince Izumi that they could all try to be together.

It was a struggle but after a few months the three of them were able to get into the comfortable and loving relationship they now had. A lot of the work mainly had to do with Shisui wooing Izumi and getting him to make her trust him that he loved her just the same as Itachi and not as some baggage that he came with.

It had turned out that Izumi did have a slight crush on Shisui beforehand. It was just nothing she herself took seriously considering her feelings for Itachi and how she felt they mattered more because they were stronger than the small crush on Shisui.

"But you love him anyway." Itachi relaxed into his seat and closed his eyes. He was tired from his visit to the city and the doctor.

"Yeah, I do. I really do," Izumi agreed. "And I love you."

She reached over and stroked Itachi's hair. The last thing Itachi remembered before succumbing to sleep was the feel of her fingers running along his scalp and the gentle rolling of the car.

* * *

Ino frowned as she looked down at the couch's occupant snoring gently away. With her hands on her hips she got ready to shout at Shikamaru but was stopped by Sai who brought her a cup of vanilla pudding from one of their coolers.

"He did drive all of the way here."

"Only because Chouji wouldn't let me drive his family's van." Ino sighed and went to sit down at the other end of the couch. Shikamaru curled up into a ball as if he sensed her approaching in his sleep. "So have we decided who's getting the rooms?"

When Sai had told Ino about the camping trip that Naruto had planned she immediately argued that the girls should go as well. Kushina Uzumaki had been on her side because she wanted Karin and Naruto to hang out more. She then went ahead and invited Shikamaru and Chouji and convinced their fathers to let them use the lake cabin that their families shared.

Shikamaru wasn't interested at first and neither was Chouji but neither one of them were good at saying no to Ino. They could try, but she wasn't going to take no for answer.

"I'm getting my own bed." Karin crossed her arms and glared at everyone who was still bringing their belongings from their vehicles.

"Yeah, yeah princess," Suigetsu mocked her, bringing in the fishing gear that Jugo had supplied for the trip.

"Well, we could split up by gender. There are four rooms, three of which have queen sized beds and the last one has three twins." Chouji had planted himself on the floor in front of the couch Shikamaru and Ino were sitting on. "The girls can take the Ino-Shika-Cho room and the rest of us can split up and share our parents' rooms. And this couch is also a pull out."

"I am not sharing a room with this loser," Sasuke scowled at Naruto.

Sakura had texted Ino so she knew that the ride had not been a pleasant one. Naruto kept insisting on playing Killer B the entire ride and Sasuke had almost thrown Naruto's phone out of the window. Sakura had called her later to inform her that they had to pull over because Karin was threatening to strangle Naruto because he kept childishly getting into her personal space.

"We could have the couples take the rooms with the single beds," Suigetsu suggested. "That adds up pretty well and I guess if the big guy doesn't mind he can take the pull out."

"There's only two couples," Karin said at the same time as Chouji and Jugo looked at each other and asked, "which big guy?"

"Right." Suigetsu scowled and headed into the kitchen, presumably for a glass of water. Ino thought it odd that he drank so much water when she first met him, thinking maybe he was possibly diabetic and needed to be checked by a doctor, but it turned out that he used adderall for his ADHD and that left him dry mouthed and dehydrated.

"I actually kind of want to sleep out in a tent tonight," Sakura chirped up. Ino smiled fondly at her and her excitement. It was Sakura's first time camping. The closest experience she had confessed to having was when she, Naruto, and Sasuke had camped out in Sasuke's backyard when they eleven.

Ino was about to offer to set up a tent so that the two of them could camp out by the lake when Sasuke nodded and left the cabin. Sakura beamed and followed. Ino blinked in disbelief. She hadn't expected Sasuke to just go with whatever Sakura had just said. Or for them to have the quickest and most silent discussion she had ever witnessed.

"We're going with Suigetsu's idea." Everyone turned to look at Shikamaru who still hadn't opened his eyes. "You can stop pretending you and Suigetsu aren't a thing, Karin."

"I don't like you," Karin sneered at him.

"Good thing I don't care." Shikamaru sat up and stretched with a groan. "The quicker we split the rooms, the quicker I can go to sleep. Leave one of the rooms for Uchiha and Sakura. It might rain or something. And I can take the pull out if you would rather not Jugo. But I do warn you that it might be the better option because of how tall you are."

"I don't mind taking the pull out." Jugo moved his pack to the side where it would be out of everyone's way.

Ino had stopped listening to the planning and watched as Naruto disappeared up the stairs to the upper floor where three of the rooms were located. Grabbing her duffel bag she followed him up. She found him unpacking his stuff in the room she shared with Shikamaru and Chouji whenever their families came up to the lake.

"Hey."

Ino knocked on the doorframe to get his attention. Naruto looked up from the nightstand he was stuffing his things into and nodded at her. Taking it as an invitation to come in she sat down at the end of the bed he had chosen.

"Funny how you picked out my bed. Good thing too. Chouji would rather stick to his own bed."

"Why are you up here talking to me?" Naruto frowned at her. Ino's pale brows furrowed together.

"What's wrong with me talking to you?"

"You only really talk to me to scold me or because Sakura is around. With the exception of that time in the library. Which I still count as a scolding."

Ino sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She patted the spot next to her on the bed and Naruto reluctantly sat down next to her.

"You're in a mood. It was noticeable from the start of the room discussion. Don't try to deny it."

Ino waited patiently for Naruto to finally open up. By the time he was ready to talk Sai had already come for Ino's bag and left to find out what everyone else was doing.

"It's just awkward. Knowing that they're going to use this as a chance to do it. I don't care if they want to lose their virginity to each other on this trip but I don't want to hear it."

"What?"

Ino had been sure that Naruto was still in his funk about Sasuke and Sakura. He had been doing so well and getting along well with them and she heard from Sai and Sakura that things were going well with his girlfriend. But he was in such a weird mood ever since they started talking about splitting up the rooms.

She hadn't expected for him to still be in the dark about how far his best friends had gone in their relationship. Ino had to applaud Sasuke for not kissing and telling.

"What's that face for?" Naruto's frown deepened. Ino snapped back to focus and noticed him looking at her.

"It's not my place to say anything. And it shouldn't bother you what they do."

"It's not that _they_ bother me in particular. I don't wanna hear _you_ either." Naruto's face twisted in disgust. "And I don't want to hear whatever the fuck is going on with Karin and Suigetsu either."

"Oh." Ino nodded her head thoughtfully. Maybe Naruto was taking all of this better than she thought. She was just being presumptuous about him needing support. It was completely understandable that he wouldn't want to hear anyone having sex. Hell, she didn't like hearing other people have sex. "Wait. What makes you think those two are still virgins?"

Curiosity had gotten the best of her. Ino wanted to know what made the person that should have been closest to Sakura and Sasuke so sure they hadn't become sexually intimate when that wasn't the case.

Naruto's face turned a brilliant shade of red and he coughed.

"Well, there's no way Sakura would have ever done it with anyone that wasn't Sasuke."

Ino nodded her head in agreement. She propped her elbow on her crossed knees and rest her chin on her fist, leaning forward.

"And Sasuke is...Sasuke." Naruto scratched the top of his head and his face twisted in thought. "He's never been into girls or interested in porn. Even seeing him kissing her was weird. Like watching a dog walk on his hind legs."

"God you're a moron." Ino patted his knee and stood up. "Well, I have to go and make sure Sai hasn't started moving furniture around or something."

"Yeah, you do that. I'm going to rest for a moment." Naruto lied back on the bed.

"Oh and Naruto." Naruto opened one eye to look at her. "There should be a pack of earplugs in the bottom drawer. I don't know about the others but I make no guarantees about Sai and me."

"I hate you."

"Love you too!" Ino waved at him and flounced out of the room.

* * *

Sakura was cheerfully whistling in the kitchen, pulling out the graham crackers, Hershey bars, and marshmallows they had packed for s'mores when a pair of arms wrapped around her middle and squeezed her tight.

"Whatcha doing, Forehead?" Sakura giggled as Ino slurred her words. Ino dropped her head onto Sakura's shoulder, already too drunk to stand up properly.

"Sasuke just finished making the fire so I came in for some stuff to make s'mores."

"S'mores!" Ino chirped happily, mumbling against the crook of Sakura's neck. Sakura patted Ino's head gently, amused at her behavior. "I would love suma, suma...suma mores. S'mores. Yeah s'mores."

"I don't think you should be near any fires right now."

"I'll be careful I promise. And you could always feed me." Ino nuzzled her face against Sakura's. She became quiet and Sakura though she had settled down or fell asleep standing until Ino let out a squeal. "Shiny!"

Ino yanked clumsily at the thin leather cord around Sakura's neck until Sakura took pity on her and held the pendant hanging off of it up to her. Ino stared in awe at the thin, inch long silver rectangular prism hanging from the cord.

"Pretty! But kind of masculine at the same time." Ino squinted at the katakana characters on the prism and started mouthing something to herself. "Fuck I'm drunk. Just had to have this written in Japanese instead of English, huh. I swear that says 'Sa' but when I read the whole thing it says Sasuke. Sa-Su-Ke. Sasuke."

"What about me?"

Sakura carefully shuffled in place until she and Ino were both facing Sasuke who was standing with his arms crossed in front of his chest looking quizzically at the girls.

Ino gaped openly at him, eyes unblinking. Sasuke frowned and raised an eyebrow. When Ino still didn't blink he waved his hand in front of her face. As soon as he made the movement Ino shot forward, hands going for his neck.

"What the fuck!? Yamanaka, get off." Sasuke gripped her shoulders hoping to fend her off but she had already pushed forward and grabbed at the thin leather cord around his neck.

"Ino!" Sakura wrapped her arms around her waist and tried to pull her away.

"Stop! Stop, stop, stop." Sasuke removed his hands from Ino's shoulders and Sakura quickly dropped her hold on Ino. "Here. You're just going to strangle me or break it."

Sasuke pulled the cord over his head and handed it to Ino. Ino snatched it from him and held up an identical pendant to the one Sakura had dangling from her chain. She mouthed to herself and then nodded.

"Here." Ino attempted to give the necklace to Sakura. Sakura laughed and Ino frowned, thrusting it in her face. "It says Sakura. See. Sa-Ku-Ra. Obviously _this_ one is yours. So switch them back."

"They're couple necklaces, Beautiful. They're meant to have the other person's name instead of their own."

They all turned to look at Sai who was sipping nonchalantly from a red cup on the other side of the kitchen.

"You were here the whole time and you didn't help out?" Sasuke asked, exasperated. He shook his head and took back his necklace from Ino whose brows were furrowed in confusion.

"You two seemed to have a handle on it." Sai shrugged. Sakura glared at him and he smiled widely at her.

"You should have just written Sa-Su-Sa-Ku on both. Sasusaku. Makes more sense to me."

"We're not one of those celebrity couples that mash our names together, Ino." Sakura helped Ino adjust her clothes after they had gotten twisted up in the scuffle. "They were a birthday gift."

"Uh, but it makes sense. Think about it. Sasusaku."

"Sure, hon."

"Awww!" Ino wrapped her arms around Sakura's shoulders and squished her cheek against hers. "She called me 'Hon'. What does she call you Sasuke?"

"I'm going to go grab the idiot and tell him we're making s'mores." Sasuke grabbed all of the food Sakura had pulled together and left the kitchen.

"Was it really a birthday gift?" Sai had finally decided to help with Ino and got her a glass of water. Ino downed the glass and then leaned against Sai for support. Because of the camping trip she wasn't wearing her usual heels and her head was able to rest snugly in the crook of his neck.

"Yep." Sakura's cheeks warmed up and she toyed with her pendant bashfully.

"Good idea, bad execution. I would have gone for something less ugly."

"Shut up, Sai!" Ino snapped out of her sleepy daze and pinched Sai's cheek. "It's adorable."

Sakura rolled her eyes and grabbed a six pack of strawberry ale she had chilling in the fridge. It was the least gross of any of the beers that the group had brought with them. Once she had everything she needed she headed outside to the lakeshore where she and Sasuke had set up a tent and started the fire.

She didn't take what Sai said about her necklace to heart. He was always saying mean things to rattle her and she knew it wasn't ugly. Sure, she would rather put the pendant on a delicate silver chain but she wanted it to match Sasuke's necklace perfectly.

Both of them did originally come together on a chain but she split them so that she and Sasuke could match. He tucked his under his shirt all of the time and she had to reluctantly do the same on occasion but they still made Sakura very happy.

"Sakura!" Sakura looked up from poking at the fire to find Naruto and Sasuke heading toward her. Naruto was carrying a portable campfire grill.

"What's that for?"

"Like Sasuke is going to eat a s'more," Naruto snorted. "I brought some tomatoes to grill for him."

"Hn." Sasuke sat down next to Sakura and she had to guess whether the red of his ears was out of bashfulness or just the glow reflecting from the fire.

"This is fun." Sakura took one of the prongs and jammed a marshmallow at the end to toast.

Sakura had never gone camping before. She had camped out in Sasuke's backyard when she was younger but her parents had never been available to actually go camping and as much as Kizashi would have liked to have let her go with the Uchihas and Naruto's family, Mebuki refused to let her small child have an overnight trip somewhere far away. The farthest she was able to go away from home was to have a sleepover at Ino's house which when she lived in her single story home and then the flat she was always a ten minute drive from Sakura's house.

Naruto burped loudly and then collapsed on the blanket they had laid out, his head against Sakura's shins. Sakura was curled up with her head in Sasuke's lap. She reached over and slapped the top of Naruto's head for being gross.

"When are we supposed to get our acceptance letters for HSU again?" Naruto whined through his slurring. He was always the fastest to get drunk but he was also the quickest to recover. It didn't help that he had been busy playing drinking games earlier.

"Well Mr. Legacy, if you get accepted, your letter should come at the end of the month." Sakura sighed. She had applied to HSU as well and that was her first choice. She already received her acceptance letter for Suna University which was her second choice. Sakura was also accepted into Iwa State, which was so far it might as well have been clear across the other side of the country, but she refused to go there, so it was a good thing she was already accepted into Suna.

She really wanted to go to HSU but Suna was still a pretty good school and at least she would know Temari and her brothers if she attended. Shikamaru had also been accepted to SU so at least she wouldn't be lonely four hours away from home.

Sakura still felt as though there was a high probability that she would end up going to KCC, Konoha Community College, if she didn't get into HSU and then just transfer after she got her Associates Degree.

Two of the scholarships she applied for only worked if she were accepted into Hashirama Senju University. She really wanted to get into the Senju School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

"Did you apply to HSU, Sasuke?" Naruto tried to pull him into the conversation. Sasuke had gotten even quieter than usual when Naruto brought up college letters.

"My father expects me to go to IOC." Sasuke ran a hand through his hair. "But yeah, I did."

Indra Ōtsutsuki College. It was the college that all of the men in Sasuke's family went to if they went to college, which was a majority of them. It was an hour away from Konoha, closer to where they currently were in the valley.

"You've been accepted already." It wasn't a question. Sakura saw the defeat in Sasuke's eyes and knew that Ōtsutsuki had already sent their acceptance letter to Sasuke.

"I hid the packet in my nightstand drawer. I haven't told anyone yet."

Meaning he hadn't told his father yet. Which wouldn't have mattered. It was likely that Fugaku Uchiha already knew.

"Looks like Naruto fell asleep. Help me move him into the tent."

"God, he's heavy," Sasuke commented although he lifted Naruto with ease. Sakura helped Sasuke tuck Naruto into a sleeping bag. If she let him do it on his own Naruto would probably have been dumped on his head.

"Ready for bed?" Sakura set up the second sleeping bag. Sasuke shook his head and ducked under the flap and left the tent. Sakura followed and tugged on his hoodie's sleeve. "Hey. Want to go for a short walk?"

"Stay with Naruto. He'll freak out if he wakes up alone." Sakura rolled her eyes and held tight to his sleeve.

"He's going to be knocked out until morning. And then he'll be the luckiest of all the morons that got shitfaced tonight because he'll just wake up all hyper and without a hangover like he always does."

Sakura slid her hand into Sasuke's and interlocked their fingers. She squeezed his hand and nodded her head towards the lake's edge. Sasuke rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand and rolled his neck, stretching it. He looked down at Sakura who was smiling up at him encouragingly.

"Just a short walk. Then you gotta go to sleep."

"We'll walk until you get sleepy."

The sun came up before they crawled back into their tent and curled up next to Naruto who was snoring away, unaware that they had been missing.

* * *

All Sasuke wanted to do when he got home was crawl into bed and sleep for the rest of Spring Break.

He couldn't find a moment of peace unless he went on a hike by himself so he was irritated most of the trip. It was a weird camping trip. Most of the time he felt like he was far away from everything whenever they tried to do group activities. Like he wasn't really there.

Karin and Naruto had gotten into a fight sometime while he was on a hike. He wasn't sure what it was about but it made them silent the entire trip back. It apparently wasn't Karin's week because she was avoiding Suigetsu the entire trip as well. In their case it was weird for Sasuke that those two weren't fighting.

"What the fuck?" Sasuke rattled his doorknob again, confused as to why his bedroom door was locked.

"Oh. You're home." Sasuke looked over toward Itachi's room. Itachi was standing in the doorway. "Wait a second."

Sasuke slumped against the wall and waited for his brother to walk into his own room and use the deck they both had access to from their rooms to enter his bedroom and unlock it.

"Why was my room locked?" Sasuke pushed past Itachi as soon as his door opened. He headed straight to his nightstand and pulled open his drawer. His large white envelope from IOC was left untouched.

"I locked it while you were away so that Father couldn't enter and snoop around again."

"Again?" Sasuke's eyes widened and his brother's mouth drew into a tight line.

"He came in to look for something a while back. He hasn't in a while but I wanted to be safe." Itachi closed Sasuke's door and then took the white envelope from Sasuke. He opened it up and read the first few lines of the acceptance letter before tucking it back inside the envelope. "Why haven't you said anything about getting into IOC? Congratulations."

"I don't want to go there."

"Really?" Itachi's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "It's a great school."

"So is Senju University."

"That's where you want to go?" Itachi's voice was soft but Sasuke could hear the concern in his voice.

"They have an amazing Criminal Justice program. I want to be accepted into the Tobirama College of Arts and Sciences and join their program. Is there anything wrong with that?"

Itachi gave him a gentle smile and handed Sasuke his Ōtsutsuki package back. He ruffled Sasuke's hair and then gripped his shoulder.

"No. There's nothing wrong with that. As long as it's what you want to do." Itachi yawned and rubbed his eye with the heel of his hand. "I'm tired and I'm sure you are too. I'm going to take a nap."

As soon as Itachi left Sasuke plopped down on his bed and he stared at the white envelope. He shoved it under his bed, not wanting to see it anymore.

 _What I want to do, huh?_

Sasuke collapsed onto his bed, arms spread wide.

 _What do I want to do?_

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _**Okay I lied. KFT gets an update before TPOAM and it's more transition and to show time passing than anything else.**_

 _ **I know in fics the colleges that are used are either Real Life colleges or named Konoha University (which I wanted to avoid because, well, that's their town name and I didn't want to name all of the schools after the Hidden Villages especially if the secondary school is already named after the town) but I decided to name the closest college Hashirama Senju University to sort of reflect George Washington University and all other colleges named after founding fathers and such. Also I'm not going to use real life locations to make it seem more ambiguous where they are instead of picking a random place in America (yes they are in America I used a lot of American qualities for their education and such and based Konoha on parts of the towns and cities in the DMV area, so America. Don't worry about why they're so many Japanese kids, I did base this on my hometown where the population is extremely diverse but the majority of the town's population is Asian and Latino)**_

 _ **I almost kept writing but this was mainly for a small block I was having with TPOAM. Next chapter will come out in a few days. TPOAM should come out later today or tomorrow.**_

 _ **I'm going to focus more on the Uchiha brother's next chapter.**_

 _ **Gonna see if I can sleep now. Stupid insomnia.**_


	17. I Guess This Is Growing Up

**Chapter Seventeen: I Guess This Is Growing Up**

The e-mail had come in while she was in her Topics class. She had flailed her arms around and gripped onto Ino's arm to ground herself to reality. Sakura clapped a hand over her mouth to contain her squeal of excitement.

"You're going to break my arm!" Ino hissed, tugging her arm free of Sakura's hold. She rubbed her arm, red blooming on her milky skin. "I'm sure you bruised me Forehead."

"Check your e-mail!" Sakura nudged her arm. Glaring at her, Ino whipped out her phone and opened up her e-mail. After a few seconds of scrolling she found the e-mail from HSU. Ino opened it up and let out a scream.

"Miss Yamanaka!" Their teacher, Ms. Adair, shot up from her desk, her half moon glasses dangerously close to falling off of her face and blonde curls bouncing around her head from the suddenness of the action.

"I got in!" Ino ignored her and continued to squeal. "I got into Senju University!"

"Congratulations, now may we please have silence." It was a demand, not a request, and Ino rolled her eyes. Ino closed her binder, no longer interested in reading her articles.

Sakura made a tutting noise at her but she too could no longer act as if she were interested in creating her flash cards for their class's debate coming up. Now that she had her e-mail from Hashirama Senju University all she had to do was wait for her acceptance packet that would be arriving in the mail in the next few days.

Ino and Sakura were the first ones out of their trailer classroom as soon as the teacher dismissed them after the bell. Ino wanted to go tell Sai and Sakura was looking for Sasuke and Naruto so they split up when they entered the building.

Sakura spotted Naruto at his locker stuffing his textbooks into the top shelf. Sakura ran up to him and jumped onto his back.

"What the─!?"

"I got in! I got in!"

Naruto had to grip tightly to her thighs to keep from falling over as he tried to keep balance. He ended up slamming a hand on the lockers in front of him to hold steady.

"Do I even want to know what you guys are up to in the middle of the hallway?"

Sakura and Naruto looked up to see Sasuke attempting to get into his locker. He only tilted his head slightly in their direction and raised an eyebrow. He was always the outwardly calmer of the three. Sakura was seen as the "mom" friend of the group because of her constant nagging and fussing but it was really Sasuke that was the one that watched over the two of them and made sure they kept in line even if it was only to make sure they didn't embarrass him anymore than they already did sometimes.

"Did you guys check your e-mail?" Sakura hopped off of Naruto's back and she reached for Sasuke's phone in his front left side pocket. Sasuke swatted at her hand and gave her a look before pulling his phone out himself. Sakura rolled her eyes and carefully took his phone from him, unlocking it to open his e-mail application.

"E-mail for what?" Naruto scratched the top of his head and then frowned at the judgemental looks from his best friends. "What?"

"The one for Hashirama Senju moron." Sasuke sighed and hung his messenger bag on the hook in his locker. "Did I get one?"

"Would it really be a surprise that you got in?" Sakura held up his phone so he could see his e-mail announcing the arrival of his acceptance package in the next few days.

"I told Hina I wouldn't open any college stuff without her. She wanted to share in the excitement considering her father had her apply to Trinity and she's not looking forward to _that_ letter."

"You didn't tell us she was Catholic." Sakura racked her brain for anything that may have hinted to it. She couldn't remember a single thing but Naruto did say during their Winter Break that she had spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with her family so it was possible.

"She's not. Trinity is one of the few colleges for women left in the country though. I think guys are only accepted into their School of Education."

"Ouch." Sasuke gave Naruto a look full of pity and shook his head. "So you guys aren't going to go to the same college then."

"Yeah, but it's better than her being sent to Japan for school."

The three of them headed down the hall toward the gymnasium and locker rooms. The boys had to head to the weight training room and Sakura was meandering before she headed off to her Human Anatomy elective. It was that time of the year where even she couldn't focus on school. All she wanted to do was hang out with her friends and enjoy the weather.

"Senioritis," Naruto said seriously when Sakura voiced her complaints about going to class.

"That's not a real thing Naruto." Sakura playfully pushed his shoulder. "You go through this every year at any moment."

"It is too a real thing!" Naruto protested causing Sasuke to snort. "Shut up jerk! Watch, even you will start daydreaming and stuff."

"It wouldn't be daydreaming. It will be some form of dissociation for me."

Naruto's mouth quirked to the side and he tried to exchange a worried look with Sakura who was frowning at Sasuke.

"I'll see you after school?" Sakura asked, pulling on Sasuke's cardigan sleeve.

"I have an appointment."

"Right."

Sakura pouted but she chose to let it go. She would give him his space especially considering the fact that he was going to need all of his energy to deal with Naruto. There was no doubt that he would use their elective class to complain about how unfair Hinata's father was. That was sure to drive Sasuke mad and then Naruto would call her later to complain about how unfair Hinata's father was _and_ how mean Sasuke was to him.

"I'll see you guys later," Sakura sighed out and turned to head back down the main hall to head to the science hall.

* * *

Sakura watched as Karin took another cigarette and stuck it between her lips. With trembling hands she tried to light it up and when the lighter wouldn't ignite she threw it into the lake. Sakura sighed and pulled out her own lighter and lit Karin's cigarette for her.

Although Sakura didn't smoke she always carried a lighter with her. It was one of those things her father told her she should always carry around when she turned eighteen.

"Fuck!" Karin choked out. She sucked in a deep inhale of air and belted out another curse.

After class Sakura had run out in search of Karin. She hadn't answered any of her texts asking if she had received any e-mails from HSU. Sakura eventually found her storming towards her car, a red faced Suigetsu shouting insults after her.

"I just want to go to sleep," Karin finally said after breathing out a long trail of smoke. "I want to go to sleep and wake up and find out this day never fucking happened."

"You got into other schools." Sakura placed a hand on Karin's shoulder attempting to comfort her. "And they're _great_ schools. And being waitlisted isn't that bad. You could still get in."

"Sakura. Don't try to be optimistic. Leave that shit to Naruto. It's weird when you're not your usual realist self."

Sakura's hand slipped off of Karin's shoulder. Sakura stretched her arms over her head and let her body fall backward onto the grassy hill overlooking Lake Izuna.

"It's just so un-fucking-fair. Ino got fucking in and she's not sure if she's actually going to go into psychiatry like her father or if she's going to study floriculture."

"I think you should leave Ino out of it. And Naruto." Sakura added the last part when Karin opened her mouth. It was an awful position to be in considering in reality Karin should have been a strong candidate, much stronger than Naruto even if he was a legacy.

"Maybe I should have done more extracurriculars. Or more volunteer work or something, anything, to beef up my chances." Karin covered her face with her hands and fell back to lie next to Sakura, letting out a long wail of a groan on her way down. "But I was working so much. I _needed_ to work so much."

Sakura stayed silent, letting Karin gripe. Anything she said would just set Karin off and cause her to get mad at her. She knew Karin worked so many hours because she refused any help from Naruto's parents. If she had her way, Karin would be paying rent to the Uzumaki-Namikaze household.

"I can't even afford to go to IOC. It's a private college and I don't even know why I applied to go there. I'm just going to have to go to KCC."

As far as community colleges went, Konoha Community College was an amazing one. Getting an associates degree from there increased the chances of acceptance to any of the state colleges and credits were so easily transferrable. It wouldn't be the end of the world if Karin had to go to KCC and then she could always transfer to HSU.

"But stupid Hozuki is going to KCC to take up welding." Karin let out another frustrated groan and scrambled for her pack of cigarettes. Sakura had had enough of her chain smoking and snatched it away from her.

"No. What's going on with you and Suigetsu?"

Karin glared at her. Had it been Naruto or Suigetsu she would have wrestled them for her pack, not holding back at all. Considering Karin had seen what Sakura could do to defend herself she wasn't willing to take the risk. She kind of liked looking the way she did.

"Nothing's going on."

"Karin."

"No, really, nothing is going on." Karin ran a hand through her hair and then turned to look at Sakura with a small frown on her face. "I had to cut things off. I like fucking Sui, I'm not going to lie about that, but I don't like him like that. I thought we had an understanding that our relationship was just physical but it should have been obvious that he couldn't separate sex and feelings. Does that make me a bad person? That I don't like Suigetsu but I like to have sex with him."

Sakura took a moment to think about that. It was odd for her to contemplate because she had to push aside her own experience and relationship with sex. She couldn't picture herself ever being intimate with anyone the way she was with Sasuke. It wasn't just a physical thing but something she felt all the way down to her bone marrow.

When she came together with Sasuke it wasn't just a chase for release but a conversation between just them. A somewhat desperate conversation with pleas that their feelings were coming across to each other with every brush of fingertips and lips on each other's flesh.

But Karin wasn't Sakura. She was her own person with her own feelings and beliefs. And none of those were hurting Sakura in anyway. Yes she felt bad for Suigetsu but considering how blunt her friend was, she was sure he was made aware of what their relationship was. He had expectations and they were ones that Karin had repeatedly told him that they weren't going to be met.

"No. That's just you. And there's nothing wrong with wanting to have sex without love. Is that why you've been avoiding him since our trip to the valley?"

"Sui doesn't like me like that either. I think we've just been sleeping with each other for too long and he hasn't slept with anyone else while we've been fooling around. And even if he did like me I wouldn't date him. He's the only guy I've been with and I can't say it's because of romantic feelings. I...I'm sure it's just because I don't care about what he thinks about my scars, whether they gross him out or if he accepts them. He's the only guy I can be naked around but it has nothing to do with comfort or trust unfortunately."

Karin rolled over and brought her knees up to her chest. She tucked herself into a small ball. She was loud and standoffish and harsh like the angles and edges that made up her petite body but in this moment on the grassy knoll with Sakura there was a vulnerability to her that she never showed. There was an exhaustion rolling off of her small frame that made her seem so much older.

"I don't care about romantic love. Why do people make such a big deal about it?" Karin muttered into her knees. "I love my family and I love my friends. I have a passion for chemistry and I'm a hardworker. Fuck romance. I'm more than that. I'm bigger than that."

Sakura nodded and patted Karin's head, stroking her hair. Hair that was always surprisingly soft. Soft like how Karin actually was inside, despite the tough exterior she showed the world.

* * *

"Your boyfriend is an asshole, Sak!" Naruto slurped his boba tea angrily and Ino scrunched up her nose in disgust at the sounds he was making.

"Keep it down you moron!" Sakura smacked him with her rag before turning around to wipe down a table. The shop was currently clear of customers but her parents were still there. "And stop calling me that."

Naruto and Ino were hanging out at her parent's café while they both waited for Sai and Hinata. He somehow had dragged Ino and Sai into a double date. Sakura was surprised at how willing Ino was to share her precious time with Sai considering he was his busiest since his art showcase was just around the corner.

"Well, he is. He ignored me all throughout weight training the other day and has been ignoring my texts and I really wanted him to hear me out even if he would have been completely useless and have no advice."

"Advice for what?" Sakura turned around, hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Uh…" Naruto's cheeks burned red and he leaned across the table and whispered to Ino. Sakura had to lean down in order to hear as well. "When do you think it's appropriate to, uh, try and make a move? Like _that_ kind of move?"

Ino burst out into a fit of giggles and Sakura gave her an exasperated look. Naruto pouted, his face burning even redder.

"Don't be mean, you guys. See this is why I wanted to talk to Sasuke. Yeah he would have been a jerk but at least as a guy he probably understands that problem."

"Did he Sakura? Like have a problem with finding the right moment?" Ino asked, a mischievous smirk on her face. Sakura's cheeks puffed out in a frustrated pout. It was so typical of Ino to take the opportunity to tease her.

"Wait? Sasuke's not a virgin!?" Naruto stood up fast, knocking his chair over with a loud clang.

"Naruto Uzumaki!" Mebuki called out from behind the front counter. "Behave yourself in my shop!"

"Sorry Auntie Mebuki," Naruto grumbled, picking up the chair and straightening it. He groaned in frustration and buried his face into his arms which were crossed on the table. "How the hell did he lose his virginity _before_ me?"

Sakura was going to go back to cleaning up the rest of the tables but was stopped when Naruto peeked up at her from his arms and glared at her.

"I blame you."

"What?" Sakura's eyes went wide in confusion. Ino clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle another burst of giggles from coming out.

"You heard me. I bet it was your idea."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura narrowed her eyes at him and Naruto sat up, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Oh please, Sasuke is the pure one in your relationship. I should have known you would seduce him as soon as possible."

"Again, _what is that supposed to mean!?_ "

"I should have known you would be a dirty woman the moment I saw that weird comic with two guys in your backpack that one time."

Ino quickly got up and hooked her arms under Sakura's armpits to hold her back. As amusing as everything was, she didn't want to be a witness to her best friend murdering their blond idiot.

"So how did it all go down?"

"Like I'm telling you!" Sakura hissed, kicking and squirming in Ino's hold.

"Ino." Naruto turned his attention to Ino, determination in his eyes. "I can get you tickets to that art show that Sai wants to go to. My dad was invited to it and he can ask for as many as he wants."

"Really?"

" _Ino!_ "

"Relax I'm not going to tell him anything." Ino released Sakura and patted the top of her head. "But I can help him with seducing his girlfriend. I help you get laid and you help me make Sai a very happy guy."

"Deal." Naruto went back to calmly drinking his boba tea but after a moment he gripped his hair and groaned in frustration. "Great. I lost my bet to Sai."

"What bet?"

"I was so sure that Sasuke would be a forty year old virgin and Sai said it was likely that he would have sex before I did."

"Is that really the kind of stuff you talk to my boyfriend about?" Ino frowned at him before daintily taking another bite of the fruit tart she had ordered. "I hope you're not teaching him weird things again."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh really? Then what about─" Ino was interrupted by her phone ringing. "It's Sai. He must be ready to be picked up from the studio."

"It's over in River Place right?"

"Yep. So we gotta get going."

Ino and Naruto started to clean up their things and pack up their stuff when Kizashi came over and gave them each a baggie of cookies.

"Congratulations you two."

"Aww, sweet!" Naruto pulled out one of them and munched on it. Ino grimaced at his loud chewing and examined the icing on the sugar cookie. A few of them had the Senju crest, the university's insignia.

"Thank you uncle." Ino pulled on Naruto's arm and dragged him out of the shop. They were already running late to pick up their dates.

"Time to clock out, blossom." Kizashi handed a baggie to Sakura. "For that other friend of yours."

"But Karin didn't─" Sakura bit her tongue to stop talking when her father chuckled. " _Oh_. Right. Thanks, Papa."

"Now go clock out. You've been here all day. I know you've been wanting to watch the mail box."

"The mail truck doesn't come around until four."

"It's five."

"What!?" Sakura headed to the kitchen, untying her apron as she walked. "I've gotta go."

"Is she finally leaving?" Mebuki teased, poking her head through the serving hatch. "I thought we would be stuck with her all day."

"Ha!" Sakura stuck her tongue out at her mother and dashed out of the shop, the bell on the door ringing furiously after slamming closed.

"Kizashi?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Why aren't you shocked that Naruto Uzumaki just implied that your daughter has been sleeping with the Uchiha boy?"

Kizashi looked down at his tiny wife and chuckled nervously at the frown on her face.

"Cookie?" He held up a plate of his flawed HSU sugar cookies.

" _Kizashi_." Kizashi sighed and placed the plate on the counter.

"Does it really matter?"

"You know what that man thinks of us." Mebuki ran a hand through her short blond locks. Her frown caused the wrinkles on her wide forehead to deepen and she looked older than she actually was. "I don't want you encouraging their relationship. Our families are too different."

"That's kind of hypocritical don't you think? Considering our relationship."

Mebuki threw a rag at him and made a huffing sound.

"You know what I mean. We've watched that boy grow up. His family is tight knit and traditional and his father is always calling us hippies. I don't want my child to be hurt when he eventually chooses his family over her."

"That won't happen."

"I haven't spoken to my parents in _years_. Almost twenty-eight years. I don't see any Uchiha doing that. You know how they are with their filial piety."

"I still don't see why they can't be friends."

"You know damn well that what they have going on isn't friendship," Mebuki snapped at him. She sighed and smoothed the front of her apron to calm down. "This is what we get for working all of the time. I should have stayed home and taken care of Sakura all of these years and─"

"And what? And be miserable as a housewife? Just constantly worrying about our finances and how I'm doing here in the shop?" Kizashi reached over and tweaked his wife's nose through the serving hatch. "And you staying home wouldn't have changed the fact that the boy lives next door."

"No but maybe she wouldn't have been at his house all of these years. We practically gift wrapped our child and handed her right to him."

"Right, because she isn't almost exactly like her mother." Kizashi grinned broadly. "Like Naruto said, Sasuke Uchiha is such a nice _pure_ boy. It's most likely that our daughter was the instigator."

Mebuki's face flushed pink and she threw her note pad through the serving hatch at him.

* * *

Sasuke knew he wasn't going to make it home when the mail truck visited his neighborhood. His shift at Music & Arts didn't end until six-thirty and the mail truck would have gone by at four because it was a Saturday.

He had asked Itachi to check the mail and pull out anything addressed to his name but it was most likely that his mother would get to it first.

 _I am not ready for this conversation_ , Sasuke groaned inwardly as he kicked off his sneakers into the foyer closet. He still hadn't brought it up to his parents that he had applied to schools other than IOC.

Sasuke stared at his shoes and then reluctantly straightened them. He might as well try not to get on his mother's bad side. As he fixed them on the rack he noticed a pair of light blue rain boots with yellow ducks on them.

 _What the fuck?_

"Mom?" Sasuke called out, shuffling across the marble tile toward the great room. "Is Sakura Haruno here?"

"She and Itachi went over to Izumi's house to visit her mother." Sakura was in the kitchen turning off the stove. "Your mom asked me to watch over her pot and make sure you ate."

"Why are you here in the first place?"

"Itachi caught me going through your mail and invited me in for tea. I ended up hanging out with him until they left."

"You went through my mail?"

"I didn't realize that Itachi was on the look out for your HSU package as well," Sakura laughed nervously and started opening cabinets to look for a bowl. Sasuke loomed over her and opened the right one and pulled down two bowls.

"You didn't have to do that."

"I know. Don't be all irritated. Itachi already lectured me about how illegal that was." Sakura poured the mushroom soup into both of the bowls and placed them on the bar top of the kitchen island. "Now come eat. Your mom insists you have soup today with how the weather is."

"I'm not hungry."

"And I wasn't asking."

Sasuke glared down at her but Sakura stood her ground and pointed to the barstools.

"I will spoonfeed you."

"I'd like to see you try."

Sakura gave him an icy smile and reached for his bowl.

" _Sakura_. I was joking."

"I thought so. But you really should eat." Sakura hopped onto a barstool and pulled the bowl she served for herself closer. "Your mother made this yummy soup just for you."

Sasuke snorted but slid onto the barstool next to her. Because of how tall he was he just needed to pull it under him unlike Sakura who had to literally hop onto hers.

"I'm sure she made it with you in mind as well. Remember she made it that one stormy day when she had to take Itachi to the a follow up appointment? She said she needed to fatten you up because you're so skinny."

"I'm not that skinny," Sakura grumbled.

Sasuke just smiled to himself and took a gulp of soup. He was sure the choice of soup had more to do with Sakura than him. Ever since Sakura had turned vegetarian his mother cooked with vegetable broth and tried to make vegetarian safe dishes. His mother hadn't needed to prepare food for her in a while but she kept up the habit of preparing a vegetarian option, just in case.

He wondered if it was because she hoped he would bring her around more often now that she knew their secret.

When they finished eating Sakura took their used dishes and washed them.

"My family won't be back until late I suppose. Want to hang out upstairs for a while?"

Sakura tilted her head up to look at him as he towered over her, trapping her between him and the sink. She bit her lip and averted her gaze.

"I told your mom I would leave after you ate…"

Sasuke sighed and laid his chin on top of her head. Her hair smelled more like rain than her shampoo.

"You can wait until the rain clears up."

"I live next door, Sasuke…" Sakura shifted so that she could look up at him. Her cheeks and nose were a warm pink. Sasuke was sure if he reached over and touched her nose that it would be cold as ice. "But maybe...I should just stay and warm up a bit…?"

Sasuke grabbed her hand and pulled her along, leading her to the stairs. He paused at the bottom of the stairs and took her rain boots of the closet in the foyer. He took them with him as they continued up to his room.

When they reached his room, Sasuke dropped her hand. He opened up his walk-in closet to hide her boots. Closing the door to both his closet and room he watched as Sakura made her way across his room to the door to the deck that both he and Itachi had access to from their rooms.

While she was busy watching the rain fall, Sasuke logged into his Mac desktop and opened iTunes. It was a habit he was unlikely to ever break. If he was in his room, music had to be playing. Sasuke looked up from his desk and turned to Sakura. She was tracing the droplets of rain running down the window panes of the door.

It was such a nostalgic sight. It had been a long time since Sakura had been in his room on a rainy day.

"Naruto called me a dirty woman today."

"That's random."

"He wanted advice on how to bring up sex to Hinata I think. Ino's helping him. I don't think they talk about it but he wants to sleep with her. Guess things are going well between them."

"Can we not talk about the idiot's sex life? Or lack of one in this case?"

Sasuke placed a hand on Sakura's hip, sliding it under her shirt and stroking her stomach. With his other hand he covered the one she had on the door. He placed a slow and soft kiss on the crook of her neck and shoulder.

"He blamed me for you having sex before he did." Sakura pouted at him as he slid his hand lower, unbuttoning her jeans. Her breath hitched as his hand slid lower, underneath her boyshorts. "It was...it was something about me supposedly seducing you and─ _ahn!_ ─I'm trying to have a conversation here Sasuke!"

"You can keep talking."

Sasuke slid his fingers even lower, teasingly stroking her entrance and then sliding back up slightly to play with her clit. He alternated between touching her bundle of nerves and stroking the velvet softness of her nether lips.

"That makes it kind of hard to talk," Sakura whined. She stood up on her toes and backed up so she was against Sasuke's crotch and started to grind her rear end, trying to match his pace.

"He's right though. You are to blame."

"What!?" Sakura whipped her head up in a tilt to glare at him. Sasuke was smirking down at her, obviously only teasing. He sank his fingers inside her and she let out a high pitched mewl. Sasuke pumped his fingers at a moderate pace, spreading them every so often to stretch her out.

Sakura had to use both of her hands on the door to keep steady. Her legs buckled from his touch, causing a small rumble in Sasuke's chest, a barely concealed chuckle.

"Maybe we should get in your bed?" Sakura panted as Sasuke picked up the pace in his thrusting. "It would be warmer under the blankets."

"Yeah…" Sasuke muttered into the crook of her neck. The situation at hand was starting to feel familiar.

" _It's kind of cold," Sakura murmured, visibly shivering._

" _Then stay away from the door." Sasuke dropped his book on his face. It was difficult to concentrate on his reading assignment when Itachi was out of the house for his doctor visits. If he went to KSS instead of Oto Prep he wouldn't have had to have started school a whole month earlier than his friends and his mother wouldn't have told him to stay home to work on his homework instead of joining her as she took Itachi away from the house._

" _You guys leave the air conditioning on too high."_

 _There was a dip in his mattress and he shifted the book off of his face, watching as Sakura curled up under his blankets. He watched her settle in, amused at how at home she was in his bed._

" _Don't go to sleep."_

" _I'm just trying to get warm." Sakura wiggled her body until she was as close to Sasuke as possible. "You're warm. You should warm me up."_

"I know it wasn't the first time we had sex but you were the one that asked me to warm you up the following chance we ended up sleeping together." Sasuke pulled his shirt over his head. He could feel his necklace falling back onto his chest with with a small thud. He only noticed it because he was hyper aware of it at all moments.

"I didn't mean it that way and you know it." Sakura glared at him as she shimmied out of her skinny jeans. Sasuke reached over and helped pull them off of her calves. "I was thinking that we could cuddle or something."

"Do you want to just cuddle or something now?"

"Don't ask that as you're pulling down my underwear," Sakura snapped at him, her skin flushing red all over. It was always such a wonder how she colored so easily.

Sakura was so pale with a light dusting of freckles across her visage, her shoulders, and even her chest. Sasuke reached behind her and unhooked her bra to reveal his favorite freckle, right underneath the bottom swell of her right breast and sucked on it.

"It's always that one first," Sakura giggled, pulling Sasuke up by his shoulders so that she could kiss him on the mouth. She moved her mouth languidly over his as he nestled himself between her thighs.

Sasuke could feel her fingers ghosting over his skin, the tips of her nails scraping lightly as she made her way down his chest finally letting the pads of her fingers touch him as she reached his abdomen. When Sakura allowed him to pull away he watched as she ran her fingers up and down his torso, only taking small pauses whenever she reached a birthmark.

"Can you not tease me today?" Sakura peered up at him through rosy lashes. She bit her lip and turned her head to the side. "I just want to feel you today."

"It's not teasing," Sasuke huffed. He slid a hand up and down her side before gripping her thigh. He let go of his hold just to slide his hand further inward and resume stroking her the way he did when they were standing. He lowered his head to her chest and placed kisses up and down her sternum and then flattening his tongue to give her a strong lick between her breasts.

"Fine," Sakura hummed her approval. "But let me touch you too."

Sakura pushed against his shoulders to get him off of her and directed him to lie on his back. She straddled his waist and placed kisses along his jaw, working her way down his body. When she reached his right hip she gave him a gentle suck right on a prominent birthmark of his. It was something Sasuke knew she would do right before she took him into her mouth.

Sakura ran her tongue on the underside of his cock before closing her mouth on the head. She pumped him with a small hand as she worked her tongue so that it circled the tip of his dick before flattening on top of the slit. She let out a giggle when she felt Sasuke's fingers sink into her hair, massaging her scalp as she bobbed her head up and down trying to get as much of him in her mouth as she could.

Sasuke leaned his head back on his pillow and let out a hiss as Sakura sucked harder. He tried hard not to thrust his hips upward too much, not wanting to hurt her as she sucked him off.

"I don't want to come like that," he groaned, reaching to grab Sakura's upper arm. He tugged gently to coax her into ceasing her actions. Sakura scrambled up so that she was straddling his waist again. He helped Sakura guide him in, pushing the head of his cock to her entrance and then letting her slowly take him in.

"Fuck." Sakura clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a guttural sound that threatened to escape. She took hold of his hand with her free one and interlocked their fingers. As she lifted herself up and down, Sasuke thrust his hips, matching her rhythm.

Soon enough, Sakura was on her back, Sasuke sat on his knees and pulled her onto his lap spreading her legs over his thighs. He gripped her hips tightly as he thrust into her, using a harsh pace. Sasuke watched as Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, letting out a hiss when she clawed at his forearms.

Sakura's cries came out in staccato, punctuating into higher octaves the deeper and harder Sasuke pushed into her. Eventually her head flew back and she let out a strangled cry as she hit her release. Sasuke followed soon after, slowing down to a few last pumps. He pulled out, gasping, and collapsed next to Sakura's body. He lied there watching her chest rise and fall as she tried to catch her breath.

When Sakura finally caught her breath she turned into his side and snuggled against him, throwing his arm over her waist.

"I'm still kind of cold."

Sasuke sighed and pulled her into his arms. Sakura settled against his body, throwing a leg over his hip. They laid there listening to soft hums of each other's breathing.

"Don't fall asleep. We need to shower and possibly light a candle." Sasuke murmured, his voice muffled by the way his mouth was pressed against the top of Sakura's head.

"I know. It smells like sex in here."

"I wonder why," Sasuke said dryly. Sakura giggled and rubbed his back, moving her hands in soothing circles.

"I love you."

The words were pressed against his chest but Sakura's voice was still clear and steady the way it always was when she told him. He answered her by placing a kiss to her forehead, brushing her hair away from her face.

"It will be fine when you go to Otsutsuki College."

Sasuke's body tensed up at her words. He hadn't expected for her to bring up their college decisions. He should have known that she would know what he had already decided before he told her.

"I can always visit you. My parents are getting me a car so I can drive back and forth to school. I can use it to visit you when you move to Shumatsu Valley. Even drag Naruto with me. You know he'll want to visit you too." Sakura pressed a kiss to his chest, right over his heart. "And we can video chat any time you want as long as I'm not in class. I can even get more lingerie. Make those video calls more interesting."

Sasuke snorted, pulling her tighter against him.

"You don't have to bring Naruto."

Sakura slapped his arm playfully. She tilted her head up so that she could look him in the eye.

"I mean it. Whether it's twenty feet or sixty-two point thirty-four miles away, I'm going to come see you."

"You looked up how far away it was didn't you?"

"Maybe."

"You're ridiculous." Sasuke played with the pendant hanging off of Sakura's necklace, tracing the engraving of his name with his thumb. "But thank you."

* * *

Itachi grumbled as his mother stroked his hair. He felt gross and didn't want anyone touching him.

"You completely ruined your appetite with those cookies you ate before we left, huh?" Mikoto chided him and handed him a bottle of water. "You shouldn't have forced yourself to eat. Poor Hazuki didn't know what to do when you rushed out of the room to throw up. I can't believe it was her first time seeing you get sick."

"I try not to visit when I'm flaring up." Itachi took a long gulp of the water and then took a moment to breathe slowly. "Trust me I was just as surprised as she was that I vomited. It was completely unexpected."

"At least Izumi was there. It was sweet of her to hold your hair and rub your back."

Itachi sighed and looked out the window of his mother's car. Yes it was sweet but he couldn't help but feel disgusted with himself. He hated when anyone watched him throw up.

"Remember to take the anti-nausea pills when we get home."

"Yes."

 _And today was going so well…_

"Oh and don't forget, the physical therapist is coming tomorrow."

 _Great. I hope he doesn't bring his smut novels with him this time._

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _**so this ended up not being about the Uchiha brothers but next chapter will be Itachi-centric with some Sasuke. I had to end the chapter there just because this week has been off because of work and I really wanted to update.**_

 **To Guest Reviewer Mina:** I'm sort of writing Itachi's experience with Lupus like mine. His good days are shown when he goes out and when he's at work. I'm not sure if you're chronically ill or know someone that is but our good days are so much different than normal people and it varies for chronically ill people. Like on **my** "good days" most people would call off sick. And then what I call my "bad days" are literally can't get out of bed even my eyelashes hurt, I can't even talk, I can't do anything but try and breathe kind of days. Like someone else would probably go to Urgent Care or the ER.

So he's in a sort of limbo where he's just going by his daily life as best as he can even though a lot of days suck. It's not as bad as it could be. I think there isn't a clear understanding sometimes as to what is going on with our bodies sometimes. I always feel fatigued and weak. It's kind of just a part of me now but it doesn't stop me from doing my everyday things like go to work. But there are days when it's worse, much worse, and days when it's slightly better. I sort of have this thing where I just need to be careful what I do and how much I do in a day 'cause it could mean I can't do anything the next day.

 **To Guest Reviewer Worried About Naruto:** Don't worry! He's fine. It's subtle but you'll notice that he's moved on. He wants his friends to be happy and because I don't focus on his life you don't actually get to see how he's progressing and moving on from any feelings he had towards Sakura. Ino was just concerned about him, sort of taking up the task of checking on his feelings just in case it's stuff he can't talk to Sasuke or Sakura about. But she found out that he's doing well. Stuff will happen in the future and Naruto will be happy, trust me.

 ** _Please no one question why Karin didn't get into Senju when she should have been a strong candidate. The same thing happened this past Spring to my sister's friend. She was an honor roll student in mostly AP classes and she was still waitlisted and rejected. It was unfortunate._**

 ** _I've realized a while back but never brought it up but I need to say thank you. Thank you to everyone that reviews. You make this experience much more enjoyable and your comments motivate me to write more. Thank you and I hope you continue to enjoy KFT._**

 ** _I'm going to try and focus my energy on TPOAM. I kind of have a big chapter coming up in that fic but hopefully there should be a chapter update for KFT soon._**


	18. I Lo-Lo-Love The Way You Bend It

**Chapter Eighteen: I Lo-Lo-Love The Way You Bend It**

Sometimes it felt like a stab of needles. Other times like something, some ghost, was grabbing onto a particular spot and decided to just twist sharply. Either way, Itachi was left gasping and crying out in pain.

"What's wrong?" Shisui murmured sleepily just having been woken up by the way Itachi suddenly jolted.

Whenever he slept over he was suppose to use the guest room but he always ended up sneaking into Itachi's room to lie next to him. They would FaceTime with Izumi until she fell asleep. She was the type that found it easy to fall asleep and then was early to rise. A heavy sleeper in between.

Shisui reached over to soothe Itachi but Itachi just flinched and tried to create more space between them.

"Don't touch me!" Itachi hissed. One wrong move and his whole body would feel the shocks of pain again. At the moment he was just riding out the aftermath of the initial jolt. Shisui looked on, concerned but with some hurt in his eyes. He knew that it wasn't a rejection but it still felt like it was.

Shisui took one more look at Itachi and then rose from bed. He stretched his arms and shuffled over to the desk and found Itachi's heating pad and plugged it in, carefully sliding it underneath Itachi's calf and wrapping it around his leg.

After Shisui was done with that, he turned back to the desk and pulled out Itachi's journal. He flipped to the next blank page and wrote the date and time.

"Where does it hurt? And what kind of pain?"

"Predominantly in my right leg," Itachi answered through gritted teeth. "Almost like a cramp but more like needles underneath my muscle? I don't know, it just fucking hurts!"

"On a scale from one to ten?"

"Four."

"Four? And you practically screamed?"

"My four is like your seven." Itachi took a deep breath and held it. He let it out in a slow hiss and repeated the action. "You know I don't have a normal pain scale."

Dealing with pain almost every moment of his life made it impossible for Itachi to be able to describe the magnitude on a scale like an average person. He walked around with pain and was numb to it, growing accustomed to dealing with it and functioning so that it was just a small irritation.

"Is the heating pad working?"

"A bit."

"You need to tell Kakashi this. Also maybe you should stretch more? Like you're suppose to?"

"Fuck off."

Due to fatigue and pain and swelling in his joints, Itachi was no longer as active as he once was. His doctor had suggested a physical therapist to help him with his joints and muscle conditioning, especially for his legs.

Itachi's cousin Obito had a friend named Kakashi Hatake who happened to be a physical therapist. He made visits to Itachi's home for their sessions. Itachi scheduled his appointments on days he didn't have anything to do considering he and his mother were never sure when he would actually show up.

Itachi mostly found it amusing because he knew Kakashi only did it to mess with Obito who was constantly late whenever they met up. Mikoto would scold Kakashi but would never actually let Obito know of his friend's behavior because he was the only physical therapist Itachi seemed to like.

"I'm just saying that you should attempt to exercise even when he doesn't visit," Shisui muttered. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and pouted. At the half smirk on Itachi's face he opened his mouth to say something else but instead his eyes widened in shock.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you hear that?" Shisui moved from the desk and sat on Itachi's bed, scooting closer to the wall and pressed his ear to it. "Is your brother watching porn at like three in the morning?"

Itachi sighed and sat up to massage his calf. The heating pad had helped a great deal but there was still some soreness.

"Nope! Not porn." Shisui moved away from the wall. "The headboard just smacked against the wall."

"They've been going at it like rabbits ever since they've made their college decisions." Itachi fell back onto his pillow and bundled himself up in his blankets. "I have no idea how they're going to deal with going to different colleges if this is how they react to knowing they'll be away from each other."

"Teen love is a strange thing," Shisui grumbled and slid under the blankets. "So this happens a lot doesn't it? You weren't surprised at all."

Itachi nodded and turned onto his side so that he was facing Shisui. He didn't come closer but he did grab his hand and held onto it, a small apology for being short with him earlier.

"I should tell your parents that I need to crash at your place more often." Shisui gave Itachi's hand a squeeze, accepting his apology. "Just so you don't have to deal with that on your own."

"I barely notice them now to be honest. Also, my father will think you're just trying to get my mother to spoil you as long as possible. He'll tell you to book a room in a hotel."

"He's not that much of a hardass."

"No, he's not," Itachi agreed.

Fugaku was strict but he wasn't cruel. Considering his treatment of Sasuke and how hard he was on him some would misunderstand. Did Itachi think it was fair? No he did not. But he knew everything his father did was because he cared no matter how misguided Itachi thought he was.

"Izumi said you ran into Taiko the other day." Shisui stretched out, splaying his body out like a starfish. He always took up the most space. Cuddling with him was fine but once he fell asleep he was likely to push someone out of bed. It was one of the reasons Izumi preferred sleeping in between them.

"It wasn't a run in. It was more like we had dinner at his dad's and he was there."

"Oh. Was it awkward?"

"Of course it was."

Taiko was a year Itachi's junior and was unfortunate enough to be constantly compared to him due to the fact that their fathers were close. It didn't matter if it was academics or tae kwon do, Taiko fell short of his father's expectations when Itachi was the bar.

It only got worse when he started getting compared to Sasuke, someone who was four years younger than him. It was one of those things Itachi pushed to the deep recesses of his mind and didn't care to think on. He was too preoccupied with how Sasuke was compared to himself growing up. Taiko was his father's cousin's son and no concern of his.

But now Itachi couldn't help but feel as if he should have said something or done something when they were teenagers. Just anything to prevent the feelings that caused Taiko to hold such a grudge on him and Sasuke.

"He said something to Sasuke," Itachi said softly. Shisui's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He hummed, coaxing Itachi to continue. "I mean, he had to have. I caught them in the hallway when I was coming from the restroom and there was...tension."

"Tension? That doesn't sound like the full story. I mean tension could mean anything when you're talking about Sasuke."

"Sasuke had him pinned to the wall. His arm was pressed against Taiko's throat."

"That sounds more like Sasuke." Itachi rolled his eyes as Shisui smirked at him. Itachi lightly smacked his chest, too weak from his fatigue to do anything but make Shisui snicker. "Do you think it had anything to do with Itty Bitty?"

"Most likely." Itachi let out a yawn and Shisui's eyes crinkled around the edges as his lips pulled into a soft smile. "At least I think it had to be."

"Uh-huh." Shisui tucked a strand of Itachi's hair behind his ear. "Your hair is really soft, what the hell."

"Izumi did a glaze. I think she's enjoying the fact that I grew my hair back."

"It's almost as nice as her's now."

"I will ignore the subtle insult thrown in there."

"Don't be dramatic." Shisui laughed out loud. He sighed happily and drummed his fingers on his stomach. "Listen. I think they stopped."

"You weren't listening in the entire time were you?"

"Of course not!" Shisui frowned, looking insulted that Itachi would even think that. "I just realized that it's really quiet now."

"Go to sleep Shisui."

"You go to sleep."

"I can't."

Itachi sighed and rolled over to his other side. The pain his back was bothering him and he was having difficulty finding a comfortable position. He felt guilty knowing that Shisui, who was a light sleeper, was going to be kept up by his tossing and turning.

"Do you want a muscle relaxer?"

"I took one at eleven. I can't have another for two more hours."

Shisui just sighed and scratched Itachi's scalp lightly. Itachi hummed contently and leaned into his touch. It was his favorite thing and he loved when Izumi or Shisui did it to help him fall asleep or soothe him.

"Can you just keep doing that?"

"Of course." Shisui leaned over and kissed Itachi on the back of his neck. He leaned back, lying on his side for better access and scratched circles into Itachi's scalp. It was such a small thing but it made Itachi happy.

* * *

Focusing on her poetry assignment wasn't easy. Sakura tried her hardest to ignore the feeling of being stared at. She had to suppress the usual tingle and shiver running down her spine when Sasuke was watching her.

 _I should have just gone home to do my homework on my own._

Sakura took out her highlighter and underlined a line she wanted to focus on in her analysis. She flinched when a hand found it's way under her black mesh and cotton striped t-shirt dress, stroking her lower back. She frowned at the messy line she drew when she jumped and capped her highlighter. Sakura pulled out her pencil and began writing an annotation.

Sakura broke the lead of her pencil when the hand on her lower back slid downward cupping her ass and then giving it a squeeze. The back of her neck started to feel hot but she decided to let Sasuke figure it out on his own that she wasn't going to acknowledge what he was doing.

 _Okay. Let's do another read through. Some say the world─_

"Did you seriously just spank me?" Sakura turned her head to look at Sasuke who was sitting on the floor, his head lolled to the side as his eyes trailed down Sakura's back and then back to her face. Sakura swallowed the lump in her throat, the heated look Sasuke sent her had heat pooling in her lower stomach.

Sakura turned back to her English notebook, forcing herself to keep her head down and focused on the words on the page. She chewed on her lower lip when she felt the couch cushion sink as Sasuke crawled on top of her. Sasuke pulled her notebook away and set it on the ground.

"I was working on that."

"Take a break," Sasuke murmured. Sakura buried her face into the couch cushion when he kissed her between her shoulder blades and down her back. He lifted her hips up, rubbing himself on her bottom.

"I didn't realize Robert Frost made you hot," Sakura mumbled against the polyester upholstery. "Maybe I should start reciting some of his poems next time I want to get you in the mood."

" _Sakura_ ," Sasuke breathed out, voice husky. "Stop talking and turn over."

"So demanding," Sakura said with a teasing lilt in her voice but complied and settled onto her back. Sasuke braced himself on his forearms and settled between her thighs.

Sakura cupped the back of Sasuke's neck in her hands, keeping him close as he slanted his lips over hers, dipping his tongue into her mouth, pulling soft moans from her. Sasuke rolled his hips against hers causing Sakura to let out a soft cry.

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed together as he received Sakura's hungry kisses. The harder he rocked into her the more Sakura whimpered into his mouth. Sasuke was so distracted with cupping and massaging her breasts that he almost didn't notice Sakura removing his belt.

"It jingles a lot when you move," Sakura answered his unspoken question as she unbuckled and unzipped his jeans.

"What are you doing?"

"Finishing what you started." Sakura tugged his jeans lower on his hips and pulled out his cock. She gave him two sure pumps before Sasuke removed her hand. He bunched up her dress around her waist and slid her shorties down until she was bare and exposed in only her dress and thigh highs.

"You're─" Sasuke nipped at her thigh and pressed an open mouth kiss close to her folds without touching them, "─pretty wet─" he gave her a harsh and long lick and gave her clit a little flick, "─already…"

Sasuke groaned against Sakura's folds and pressed an open mouth kiss to them, refusing to break eye contact with her.

Sakura let out a gasp when Sasuke began to work her heat with his tongue, circling the area around her little nub before dipping down lower. When Sakura began to rock against him he laughed, the rumble making a wonderful vibration. Sakura stuffed the collar of her dress into her mouth to stifle her noises and then her hands found purchase in Sasuke's hair.

Sakura's head fell back so that she had an upside down view of the open door of the Uchiha media room. A groan got stuck in her throat when she felt Sasuke curl his fingers inside her.

It wasn't the first time the two of them had fooled around on the couch in the media room. The first time they had sex in the media room Sasuke had just come home from Oto and hadn't even bothered fully removing his uniform. Three days later his parents pulled him out of school and started the transfer process so he could attend KSS when classes started after Labor Day.

He wanted to burn his uniform but refrained from doing so when Sakura dropped a hint about wanting to keep it. She had really liked pulling Sasuke down to her with his tie and the way he looked with his uniform shirt unbuttoned and his chest bare.

Although slightly perturbed by the fact, it somewhat excited Sakura when it seemed like they were risking being caught. The smell of food cooking assured her that Sasuke's mother was too busy in the kitchen to catch them in the act.

Sasuke wouldn't let up on his control of the situation. Although they had moved so Sakura was straddling his lap, he held her hips down possessively, refusing to let her do any work as he thrust hard and deeply upwards into her. Sakura gripped the back of the couch, her knuckles turning white from how tightly she held on.

"Sa- _ah!_ -suke I'm─" Sakura panted, cut off by her own cry as she hit her second release as Sasuke spilled into her, groaning against her collarbone. As he was coming down from his high he pressed feather light kisses to her neck.

Sakura knocked her forehead against his, letting it rest there as her breathing slowed down. She cupped Sasuke's face in her hands and stroked his high cheekbones with her thumbs before pressing a loving kiss against his lips. He looked up at her, dark eyes filled with warmth and she kissed him again, more deeply, before climbing off of his lap.

"I'm going to go clean up." Sakura picked up her shorties from where Sasuke had tossed them onto the ground and balled them into her fist. She looked back at him with his hair all messy and tousled from their love making and cupped his chin in her hand, giving him another kiss.

Sakura made her way to his restroom. She caught sight of her reflection in Sasuke's mirror before she entered and grimaced. It was a good thing that Mikoto was naive enough to think telling them to keep the door open was all she needed to do and didn't check up on them. Sakura's low side ponytail was in disarray, hair falling out of her hair tie, and her lips were red and swollen.

"Motherfucker…"

Sakura fingered her clavicle gingerly. A red mark had bloomed on her pale skin. Lifting up her dress and bunching it around her armpits she found more marks. She just sighed and adjusted her clothing. Taking Sasuke's brush she fixed her hair into the hairstyle she entered the house with and patted her ponytail so that it covered the noticeable hickey.

 _And now I'm sore._ Sakura winced a little as she cleaned up between her thighs. She slid her shorties back on and huffed at her reflection. She was as presentable as she was going to get.

"I'm going home." Sakura started packing her things into her backpack when she came back from cleaning up.

Sasuke frowned, not moving his head from where it was resting against the back of the couch. He was almost exactly the way she left him, only he had pulled his pants back higher up his hips and zipped them.

"Because I think I've distracted you enough."

Sakura didn't want to admit it but Fugaku Uchiha had a point. Lately, Sasuke wasn't doing any of his homework or even his classwork if Sakura was around. He had become more laxed after he made his decision to go to IOC and it worried Sakura. She liked that he didn't seem as stressed as he did before but she also didn't want him to get on his father's bad side.

"I would have had a hard time focusing anyway."

Sasuke ruffled his hair and let out a sigh. Sakura dropped her bag with a loud thud and took a seat by him on the couch. She curled up against his side and rest her head against his shoulder. Sasuke adjusted his body so that he could rest his head on top of hers.

"Have you talked to your therapist about that? Do you talk about anything?"

Sasuke's body tensed up and he pulled away. Sakura placed her hand gently on his shoulder and coaxed him to settle back on the couch with pleading eyes. Sasuke relaxed and took a breath in, exhaling it slowly.

"We don't have to talk about it."

"Sorry," Sasuke muttered. "I'm just tired of being asked about therapy."

"I'm curious about one thing though," Sakura said carefully, waiting for Sasuke to give her a look that said it was okay to continue. "What's going to happen to your sessions when you go to IOC?"

"Video calls. With occasional office visits on weekends."

"Oh."

"You know my mom isn't going to let you go home until you have dinner right?"

"She wouldn't trap me here."

Sasuke just stared blankly at her and she groaned, running her hands down her face. He was right. Mikoto looked way too happy when she showed up with Sasuke to work on their poetry projects.

"I'll sneak out."

"Good luck."

Sakura glared at him and picked up her bag. She stuck her tongue out at him and then exited the room with a huff. Sakura crept down the stairs, Sasuke following behind her to watch her attempt to sneak out the front door.

Sakura cringed when the closet door rattled. At home she never put her shoes in the closet, just left them lying at the entrance, but it was Mikoto Uchiha's pet peeve so she had stuck them in the foyer closet. She hadn't counted on the closet door being noisy. It was only when you needed to be quiet did everything sound loud.

"And where do you think you're going?"

Sakura turned to see Mikoto standing in front of the front door. Sakura looked at Sasuke who didn't show his surprise except for the barely noticeable rise of his eyebrows. Neither one of them had heard or noticed Mikoto approach them.

"I'm heading home before it gets too late."

"I called your mother and told her you'll be having dinner with us tonight. She said to make sure you got a second helping."

Sakura held back the urge to roll her eyes. It was typical of her mother to embarrass her like that. After Sakura got over her dieting phase back in her early teen years she ate generous portions but whenever she was over at someone else's house she tended to be more reserved and felt awkward about eating even when she was at the Yamanaka residence.

"Come on you two. Go set the table."

Mikoto gently pushed against Sakura's back leading her into the kitchen. Sakura could hear Sasuke following behind them.

 _He's laughing at me right now isn't he?_ She turned back to look at him once Mikoto let her go when they reached the kitchen. He had a smirk on his face. _Yeah, he's laughing at me._

"You grab the glasses," Sasuke muttered to her before grabbing all of the utensils they were going to need.

Sakura opened up the cabinet she assumed the glasses were in using her memory of where things once were. She smiled to herself when she got it right and pulled out the matching set of glass goblets to the plates Mikoto had on the counter. Two glasses that sat on the shelf above them caught her eye.

Pulling them down, Sakura examined the cherry blossom pattern on one and the frogs on the other.

"I can't believe they're still here," Sakura giggled. Mikoto came up behind her and took the glasses in her hands and smiled softly at them.

"Of course we still have them."

Mikoto had found the glasses in a gallery store in Riverside when the kids were in fourth grade. She bought them for when Naruto and Sakura because they were always either at her house or at the Namikaze-Uzumaki residence.

Sakura looked down at the glasses and felt slightly guilty. They were dust free and looked shiny and bright, as if someone made sure they were constantly ready to be used. She set the frog patterned glass back on the shelf but held onto the cherry blossom one to use herself.

The sound of the front door opening caught her attention. Itachi called out that they he was home and then the door to the foyer closet rattled.

"Something smells good," came his pleasant voice as e entered the kitchen. Sakura turned around to greet him only to see his father standing behind him.

 _Oh, fuck me._

* * *

Itachi hadn't expected to find Sakura Haruno in his family's kitchen. She was standing there, green eyes really wide like a deer caught in headlights when he walked in with his father.

Now she was sitting on his right, across from Sasuke and his mother, looking down at her plate.

"Itachi, what are you doing?" Mikoto frowned as he reached for the bottle of wine she brought out to have with dinner. "You're not supposed to drink alcohol."

"Correction Mother: I'm not allowed to drink in excess. But I am allowed a glass of wine." He poured the wine into his goblet up to the brim. He muttered under his breath, "I'm going to need it."

"Mikoto?" Fugaku grunted, his eyebrows furrowed at the stuffed mushroom on his plate. He poked lightly at it with his fork.

"Stuffed mushrooms and risotto, dear."

"No meat?"

"No meat."

"Still a vegetarian I see." Itachi offered Sakura a grin which she returned, eyes warm with gratitude. "But there's cheese?"

"I don't exclude dairy or eggs from my diet. My dad usually gets his stuff from a local farm for his shop and that's what we have at home too. Everything is free-range. A good compromise since my mom isn't vegetarian."

"Ah." Itachi nodded his head in interest. "I've been contemplating switching to a vegetarian diet. I think a semi-vegetarian one would work for me."

"You like meat." Fugaku frowned at him. "Is this really enough for you two?"

"Mushrooms are loaded with protein, Father."

"It has tomatoes," Sasuke muttered, taking a decent bite of one of the stuffed caps on his plate. Itachi almost snorted into his goblet at his brother's response.

Itachi watched as his father sighed and turned to his plate. He found it amusing how his father was poking at the lack of meat on his plate considering the fact that usually he loved anything his wife cooked.

 _He just wants to be difficult._ Itachi recalled how his father had eyed Sakura's outfit earlier as well. Fugaku just had to find something to pick at all of the time.

"So Sakura," Mikoto cheerfully turned her attention to her, "I was talking to your mother the other day. She says you got accepted to Senju."

"Yes," Sakura replied after she dabbed her mouth with a napkin. "I'll be going there in the fall."

"Pre-Med, right?" Itachi asked. A sideways glance at his father informed him that his father had silently scoffed when Senju was mentioned. He turned to Sakura who nodded enthusiastically, eyes bright. Itachi smiled back, mostly because another sideways glance granted him the sight of Sasuke's small, yet soft smile.

The dinner went on with Itachi asking Sakura questions about her future goals and praising her. Sakura was flustered by all of the attention but Itachi wouldn't let up. His mother joined in, more than happy to learn more about Sakura than just what she heard from Mebuki and Kushina in passing. Itachi used the distraction to fill up another goblet of wine which made him loosen up even more.

"By the way Sakura," Itachi smiled widely, "I've been meaning to ask you if you would help me out. I'm interested in yoga but I don't want to go to a class. It's just a little embarrassing considering my condition."

It was true. Itachi did feel uncomfortable being in groups and it made it worse with his chronic illness. He found a studio that had specialized classes for people with chronic illnesses but he still didn't feel comfortable attending them.

"Would you consider helping me out with some poses? I would really like to work on my flexibility and it would be good for my muscles."

"Oh, I think I can do that!" Sakura had become more comfortable as the dinner progressed and spoke more brightly and confidently. "Just let me know when you're free."

"You should think about it too, Sasuke." Itachi took a sip of his wine. "Maybe give yourself different exercise options. Much calmer, quieter exercise to do when you can't sleep at night."

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at his brother's wink. The only person that seemed to have an understanding of what he was implying was Sakura who Itachi could see out of the corner of his eye was slowly sinking into her seat in embarrassment. Sasuke's eyes widened when he glanced over at Sakura and he started to cough, choking on his risotto.

"Oh, honey." Mikoto rubbed soothing circles on Sasuke's back and handed him his goblet of water. "Slow down when you eat."

"Yeah he has a real problem with that," Itachi muttered. Sakura fell out of her seat in her attempt to slide out of sight.

"Sakura!" Mikoto cried out in concern.

 _Shin was so wrong about meds affecting our tolerance. I feel fine._

* * *

Sasuke snatched the guitar out of Suigetsu's hands and hung it back up. His friends had found out where he worked and had decided to drop by for a visit. They were being a nuisance with the exception of Jūgo who was the only one that refrained from touching any of the instruments.

"Don't you guys have something better to do?"

"No, not really." Naruto wrapped an arm around Sasuke's neck and took a selfie. Sasuke shoved him off and Naruto stuck his tongue out at him.

"Well you gotta go before the vocal coach gets here. He tends to be an ass and I don't want him to complain to my boss."

"I should get a ukulele." Naruto sprinted to where one was hanging on the wall and lifted it up. "You've got one, Sasuke. You should you teach me how to play!"

"No." Sasuke hadn't even picked up his own instruments in months, he wasn't going to teach anyone. He only made an exception with the piano for work.

"Why do you even want to learn?" Suigetsu snorted.

"Just think about how cute I would be strumming it. Girls would love it."

"You already have a girlfriend, dumbass." Sasuke snatched the ukulele away from him.

"Yeah and she would love it."

"She would love it when you learn how to move your fingers right," Suigetsu joked. Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose and Naruto turned bright red and spluttered an unintelligible response.

"You're disgusting." Sasuke pointed at the front door. "Out. All of you."

The rest of his shift was uninterrupted but also dull. It wasn't a day he had any lessons to teach so he just manned the counter. He almost ran out of the store at the end of his shift.

When he got home, Sasuke couldn't park in the driveway. He hadn't expected to see Izumi's VW Bug or Shisui's Dodge Charger alongside Kakashi's van. The van seemed like an odd choice at first but then Sasuke found out how many dogs the man owned.

"Everyone's outside," his mother informed him when he walked into the kitchen for water. She was shuffling back and forth from her room to the laundry room.

Curious he headed out to the backyard, wondering what Kakashi had planned for his brother and why Izumi and Shisui were visiting.

 _What the fuck?_

Out on the grass by the pool, Sakura was guiding his brother and his girlfriend and boyfriend through a series of poses. She was currently helping Shisui with his posture. Sasuke found Kakashi lounging on a lawn chair, reading.

"Aren't you suppose to be working?" Sasuke approached him, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Kakashi flipped a page and then adjusted his medical mask. He always had an excuse for why he needed to wear one. It was either allergies, a cold, or so that he wasn't breathing on his patients with autoimmune disorders.

"It's a pool day for Itachi and when I got here he was already stretching with the tiny pink kid. I'm just waiting for him to be done."

"Don't act like you don't know her name is Sakura."

"I'll stop when it stops being entertaining how much it bothers you when I do that."

Kakashi was a close friend of his cousin Obito. He use to come to a lot of family events with their other friend Rin when they were high schoolers. They still hung out but things got awkward when Obito tried to ask Rin out and found out she was interested in Kakashi. Unfortunately for Rin, Kakashi wasn't interested in dating or hooking up. He was content with his books and dogs.

The two of them still came to a few family events as Obito's guests but it wasn't as often anymore. It was a shame because Sasuke kind of liked Kakashi.

Sasuke watched as Sakura stood with her legs wide apart and her arms outstretched. She was wearing her lycra shorts and a tank top as opposed to just a sports bra he was use to seeing her wear when she exercised in her backyard. His eyes were drawn to her waist and hips as her top rode up when she stretched her arms over her head.

Sakura began explaining something to the three of them but Sasuke didn't catch any of it as he watched her gesture around her hips and slide her hands over her stomach and on her ribs right underneath her breasts. Sakura moved her hands back to her hip bones and then slowly bent forward, her bottom sticking out. She straightened up again and then slowly bent down again.

His eyes followed as she swayed her hips from side to side, telling them something about softening the hold of their knees so that they didn't lock up their legs.

"It's rude to stare you know."

"What?"

Kakashi gave him a knowing look and then looked over to the group that was now attempting to stand completely bent forward with their heads touching the ground. Sakura was the only one in the complete pose with her hands clasped together and pulled back and straight up. Izumi and Itachi propped themselves up with their hands flat on the ground. Shisui had given up while they were bending and just fell back on his mat.

A moment later, Itachi collapsed as well. Sasuke was about to run over to him when his brother started laughing. He was fine, just a little tired.

"This is a lot harder than I thought it would be," Shisui grumbled. "You're doing great though Izumi."

"I knew I would," Izumi replied smugly. "We should totally do yoga together more often Sakura."

 _How about no?_

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at her. He was suddenly reminded of all of the times Izumi took Sakura away to play when they were younger. His eyes widened in shock when after the girls cooled down out of the pose Izumi reached over and cupped Sakura's bottom with her hand.

"I want this. What more can I do to get this, huh?"

"Your butt's fine Izumi," Shisui laughed. He spotted Sasuke standing by Kakashi and grinned widely. "Oh. Look. It's the Little Uchiha."

Sasuke scoffed at that. He had grown to be taller than both him and Itachi and Shisui's comments no longer made sense. He watched as the adults headed inside for a break and walked over to Sakura who was busy rolling up her mat.

"So you're really helping him learn yoga?"

"Yeah. It's actually kind of fun." Sakura bit her lip but then smiled brightly at him. "Besides my sun salutations I haven't been making time for it so this was a good way to start sneaking it back into my routine."

"What are you doing later?"

"Ino invited Karin and I to spend the night." Sakura poked him in the chest. "Which is good because you have been wearing me out. I'm always so sore after─don't look so proud about that!"

"Are you complaining?"

"Of course not." Sakura's face flushed pink. "But we should probably cut back. For both my body's sake and to avoid any more comments from your brother. That was really awkward the other night."

"It's a good thing my parents didn't catch on at all. My mom knows about us but I'm still not sure how much exactly."

"Hopefully less than Itachi," Sakura muttered. Sasuke shuddered, grossed out by the idea of his mother knowing about his sex life. "I'll talk to you later."

After Sakura left Sasuke went up to his room, not willing to spend anymore time with Itachi and his lovers or Kakashi.

He opened up his closet and started to rummage through it, pulling out a small case. He unzipped the case and examined the ukulele. Sasuke had bought it after his guitar, intrigued by the different sound it made.

Letting out a sigh, he pulled out his cell phone and looked in his contacts for The Moron. He paused, thumb over the phone icon and thought for a moment. Sakura had looked happy about getting back into one of her favorite hobbies. He pressed the icon and listened to the dialing tone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Naruto…"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _**hello~**_

 _ **It took a while because of work and getting sick and wanting to update TPOAM first but I finally got around to KFT.**_

 _ **Sorry if there are any ObiRin or KakaRin shippers. Not in this fic.**_

 _ **Hopefully I get a chance to update soon.**_

 _ **The title comes from Yoga by Janelle Monáe...it's been stuck in my head all week and kind of fits. Sort of lol**_


	19. We're Crashing, We're Falling

**Chapter Nineteen: We're Crashing, We're Falling**

Happiness is such a fragile thing. It was something mothers had to protect.

Which was why Mikoto Uchiha was for the first time facing the cold, hard eyes of Mebuki Haruno. The same lovely shade she had passed down to her daughter but with none of the warmth. These were tired eyes. Tired and wary.

"I'm against their relationship."

Mikoto felt as if she had been slapped. When she had invited Mebuki for some tea and to talk she hadn't expected for her friend to respond so negatively to her happy news. She had actually thought that Mebuki would respond warmly and be as overjoyed as she was. As she would have been a long time ago.

"Why is that?" Mikoto bit back from hissing out the question. Mebuki was rejecting her son and so of course she took it personally. "And if you're so against it why don't you speak to Sakura?"

"Because it's her life. And she can do with it what she pleases." Mebuki brushed at her knee that was crossed over her other leg. "It doesn't mean that I will always agree or be happy with her choices."

"And what is so wrong about this choice?" Mikoto snapped. She could feel her ears heat up, an odd condition like her youngest son in which they reddened with intense emotions.

For the first time in almost twenty years, Kushina felt like the odd man out. She was the hot headed one and usually in the middle of any of the tiffs that happened amongst the three friends. She felt awkward considering she already was aware of the fact that Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno were dating.

Kushina and Naruto had weekly ramen dates to spend time together as mother and son. Her son talked to her about everything and anything going on his life.

" _So they're now official I guess," Naruto chirped brightly, slurping up a big helping of noodles._

" _Really?" Kushina's brow wrinkled in confusion. She had once gotten into a small argument, mostly out of an old spark of competitiveness between her and Mikoto, about who was more likely to end up together out of their children. Mikoto was so confident that it would be Sasuke and she thought it would be Naruto._

 _It was mostly out of love for her son that she defended his crush and wished for his feelings to be reciprocated but someone would have to be blind not to see where Sakura's affections lied. That and Sakura seemed to take on an older sister role with Naruto. Kushina thought she had the cutest little exasperated look when she was a toddler._

 _It was a constant look Sakura wore when she was around Naruto but she would smile sweetly at him whenever he did anything particularly commendable. It was an oddly proud look that Kushina could only compare to the look Itachi gave Sasuke._

 _But still, it was surprising to see Naruto so happy about his friends getting involved considering she was sure he still had feelings for Sakura. He had gone through a depressive episode and she was sure it was due to Sakura rejecting him._

" _Yep. It's kind of hilarious." Naruto went to wipe his mouth with his sweater sleeve but one sharp look from his mother had him reaching for a napkin. "Sasuke. I mean Sasuke's hilarious. He's obviously always had a soft spot for Sakura but now that it's known why that is it makes me want to laugh whenever I see him doing something for her. He's such a dork."_

" _Naruto...are you─?"_

" _Ah!" Naruto interrupted her and slid his empty bowl across the table. He crossed his arms on the booth's countertop and laid his head on the arms. "I know what you're going to say and the answer is yes. In fact─"_

 _Naruto looked around as if he expected someone to pop out._

" _I prefer them together. Sasuke's less of a gloomy jerk and Sakura's happy. And they're my best friends. I want the best for them. I like it better when it's the three of us but I know it can't always be like that."_

 _Naruto's face heated up, cheeks turning pink._

" _Besides. I have someone else I like. That I really like. Like a lot._ A lot _a lot."_

That was months ago. From the discussion they were having, Kushina was able to conclude that for Mikoto the discovery was around the same time but definitely after Kushina's talk with Naruto.

Kushina wanted to laugh at the memory of finding out that her son was dating the senator's daughter. She had noticed her at events sneaking looks at her son but Naruto was oblivious to it all. What an odd case of luck that Naruto started working at one of the only places the sheltered girl could go to on her own.

Laughing wouldn't be welcomed at the moment so she tried to take on what was usually Mikoto's role and tried to be the mediator.

"I'm sure Mebuki means no offense Mikoto. She loves Sasuke, you know that."

"I'm not so sure about that." Mikoto crossed her arms in front of her chest and sneered in a way that reminded Kushina so much of when she catches Sasuke and Naruto bickering. Even though the sight should have looked familiar because of how much Sasuke looked like his mother, the expression was just odd on Mikoto. Unnatural almost.

"I do love Sasuke. He is a polite, well-mannered boy that anyone would be lucky to have date their daughter." Mebuki pursed her lips and looked Mikoto straight in the eye. "He's not the problem with their relationship."

Mikoto pulled back, calmly analyzing all of her interactions with the Harunos. She was nothing but genuinely pleasant with them. She loved Sakura, helped care for her, why would Mebuki think she didn't?

"I love your daughter. She is a sweet and─"

"I know you do." Mebuki cut in and took a deep breath. She uncrossed her legs and leaned on them, resting her forearms. With tired and sad eyes she looked up at Mikoto and said, "But your husband has already hurt my child once."

Mikoto's eyes went wide. With complete shock in them, she watched Mebuki drain the rest of her tea and gently laid her tea cup and saucer on Kushina's coffee table.

"I know Sasuke's happiness means everything to you, just like Sakura's happiness means everything to me. She's my miracle child and I would do _anything_ to make sure she gets what she wants. But I refuse to entertain some fantasy you have constructed in your head of a Sakura Uchiha. We both know that's not something your husband will accept."

"Do not speak as if you know my husband better than I do." Anger flashed in Mikoto's eyes and Kushina felt sick. This wasn't a small tiff.

"Ladies," Kushina laid a hand on Mikoto's upper harm, trying to ground her to earth, "what are we even fighting about? They're only eighteen. Sasuke is only seventeen. There is time to come to terms with who your children have chosen to be with if they decide to continue to be with each other."

"The problem isn't about who our children have chosen to be with," Mikoto responded, tone icy. "It's about who _I_ have chosen to be with, isn't it Mebuki?"

"Fugaku is a respectable man. I cannot argue with that." Mebuki rose from her seat and grabbed her purse. "But his prejudices are something I can no longer tolerate, especially since they affect my child. Have a good day."

Mebuki stormed out, leaving behind a fuming Mikoto and a flustered Kushina. The most Mikoto and Mebuki had ever argued about was differences in recipes and preferences for household cleaners.

"I have errands to run and a meeting to get to," Mikoto announced, placing her cold tea on the coffee table. "I will call you later."

She gathered the things she had brought over and stuffed them into her satchel, the only sign that she was anything but calm now that she had slipped on a mask of impassiveness.

 _This is bad. This is_ really _bad_ , Kushina groaned inwardly, slumping into her seat.

* * *

Sasuke looked at the boxes varying in colors on the shelves and then back at his best friend who was currently bent over, hands on his knees, squinting at all of them.

"Just pick one."

"Will you be patient!?"

Sasuke sighed and turned on his heels to look at the pharmacy counter. The pharmacist was staring at them, arms crossed in front of her chest and eyebrow raised. When they first walked into the Family Planning aisle she had giggled at their hesitancy but now she no longer looked amused.

Sasuke sighed and turned back to Naruto who was now holding up a purple box and a blue box in his hands. He kept weighing them in his hands like that would help him make his decision.

"Hey Sasuke, what do you think the Fire and Ice ones feel like?"

"Minty."

"Minty? What the fuck are you talking about?"

"That's the only word I can think of to describe how they feel. Just pick one already moron. It's weird enough that you needed me to come in with you and now we've been here for an absurd amount of time. Why didn't you just buy them with your cup ramen at the convenience store? They're cheaper there. Or do you really think you're going to need to buy that many?"

"Can't you just be a supportive friend for once?"

Sasuke scoffed, feeling a bit insulted at Naruto's comment. He was always a supportive friend even if he didn't act like Naruto's cheerleader the way Sakura did. He even held Naruto's fucking hand when the moron decided to get his large stick and poke tattoo on his stomach.

 _If he needs me to come with him to buy condoms, no way in hell is he ready to have sex._

"Which ones do you usually get?"

Sasuke took the purple box and put it back on the shelf. He didn't usually buy condoms. He and Sakura sometimes used them the week leading up to her period but that was very rarely. Not since his father found a package of condoms in his room in one of his Ritalin sweeps.

"I get either of those but knowing you the Fire and Ice ones will probably cause you to freak out. I'm sure that's not how you want your first time to go."

"Double Ecstasy. Natural feeling for him, ultimate stimulation for her?" Naruto waggled his eyebrows at Sasuke. "I'm learning a lot about you today."

"Shut up." Sasuke glared at him but heat creeped up his neck and settled in his ears. Luckily for him, he was wearing a beanie so his reddened ears wouldn't expose his embarrassment.

"Buying condoms with your boyfriend?" Sasuke's eyes widened and he turned around to see his cousin smirking at him. "And I thought it was only the older one that was a complete poufter."

"Shut up, Taiko." It was Naruto that confronted him. Sasuke could see there was some confusion in his eyes but Naruto's loyalty to his friend had him stepping into a fight he knew was coming regardless of him missing some facts.

"How's your eye?" Sasuke asked, voice soft but laced with dangerous intent.

Taiko scowled at him, the way his face contorted caused him to wince. It had been a week but the skin around his eye was still heavily bruised. Itachi had somehow convinced Taiko to tell his parents that he had run into a door frame.

Shaking off the comment, Taiko straightened up and gave Sasuke an eerie smile.

"Who do you think would be more disappointed? Aunt Mikoto or Uncle Fugaku?" Taiko tapped his forefinger against his chin in mock thoughtfulness. "You still haven't told me if you think the false Uchiha is a willing beard or not."

"Izumi is more Uchiha than you," Sasuke growled, ignoring the question. "She would never turn against a clan member and try to ruin them like you. Itachi is your direct cousin and he's treated you with nothing but respect. You owe him the respect he's due."

Taiko scoffed and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Typical. You two act so high and mighty all of the time. 'Respect that he's due', yeah right. Still trying to pretend your brother's so perfect, huh? Guess a druggie would look up to a cripple and a fa─"

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke saw red and he could barely hear Naruto calling out to him over the sound of blood pounding in his ears. He could barely discern the thumping of boxes as they crashed on his body, couldn't feel them when he was so aware of the stinging of his knuckles as they came in contact with whatever he could reach of Taiko's body.

"That's enough!" Naruto hooked his arms under Sasuke's armpits and pulled him up from the wreck he caused by tackling his cousin into the shelves behind him. "Do you realize how much─ah, fuck."

Sasuke craned his neck to look at Naruto. Two officers were approaching them. From the armband on their left upper arms it was obvious they were from the Uchiha station.

 _Ah, fuck indeed._

* * *

Shisui was about to end his shift when he saw the bright blonde hair of Naruto Uzumaki and the heather gray geo print beanie he bought for Sasuke peeking from behind the holding cell bars. He shifted his gaze to the other cell and saw Taiko holding up a red spotted rag to his face.

"Why do we have minors in a cell?" Shisui questioned the closest officer available. They usually had them in a room waiting for their guardians. In worse cases, they were handcuffed to a bench in front of a desk."Why is the chief's son in a holding cell? Why is _the mayor's son_ in a holding cell?"

As much of a prankster Naruto was, there was nothing he could have possibly done to get in trouble with the police. _There was nothing Sasuke could have done to get in trouble with the police._

"They won't talk but the pharmacist at the CVS on 9th street says that Sasuke assaulted Taiko but that he appeared to be provoked. Not entirely sure how Uzumaki is involved but he won't talk either. He tried at first but one look from Sasuke and he shut down. We're waiting for his father and the chief to arrive."

Shisui approached Naruto and Sasuke's cell and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"How are you doing nerd?" Sasuke turned his face away, irritating Shisui. Naruto opened his mouth to say something but Shisui held his hand up to him. "Not yet Uzumaki. You shouldn't talk until your dad gets here."

Shisui turned to Taiko who was glaring at him. Shisui just raised an eyebrow at him and then walked away to find his desk. He pulled out his cell phone and texted Itachi.

 _ **Ur idiot bro is in a holding cell rite now…**_

Shisui put his phone down on his desk and almost immediately it started ringing.

"Hello?"

" _I'm coming over."_

"You don't even have a car and your mother is using hers."

" _I will take a fucking taxi."_

"No you will not," Shisui practically shouted. At the looks of some of his colleagues he lowered his voice. "I'm staying here and I'll watch over him. I don't think Fugaku will let me in on their discussion but I'll keep an eye on things until he gets here."

Itachi let out a noise of frustration and Shisui ran a hand down his face. He was going to have to call Izumi and have her make her way over to Itachi when her shift ended to make sure he stayed home. His body couldn't take the stress.

Shisui looked over to the direction of the holding cell and let out a sigh. It looked like it was going to be a long night.

* * *

Itachi's breath came out in quick and haggard puffs against Izumi's shoulder. He couldn't sit up anymore but he couldn't lie down because she was helping him towel dry his hair.

"You were too long in the shower," Izumi chided him.

She gave his hair a few more rubs and then pulled away. She went to his closet and pulled out some clothes from him to lounge in and her spare clothes she kept in a drawer designated for her things whenever she randomly slept over.

"Do you need your inhaler?"

Itachi shook his head furiously. He laid back on his bed and pulled on his clothes as best as he could while lying down.

"It sounds like your family is back." Izumi fluffed her hair with the same towel she used for Itachi and then set it into the hamper inside of the bathroom. "Want me to brush your hair?"

"You're going to do it anyway." The humor that would usually be in his voice was missing as he gasped out the words.

"I'm getting your rescue inhaler."

"I said I was fine. You and Shisui are coddling me too much."

"We do not."

"You just showered with me. To _help_ me. Nothing sensual, just you assisting your disabled boyfriend."

"Oh. I didn't realize you wanted that kind of shower."

Itachi scoffed and stood up to grab his cardigan. His steps were unsteady and he made to sit on his rocking chair like that was his true intention of getting up.

"I feel so useless."

Izumi held her elbows, trying to comfort herself. She learned a long time ago that it was pointless to try and argue with Itachi when he was feeling low about himself. Especially in cases involving Sasuke.

"I'm going to go check on your family."

Izumi left the room and stood by the railing, listening to the voices rising up to the second floor.

" _What?_ "

"Oh no…" Izumi whispered. She ducked down, gripping onto the bars as she listened to Mikoto pleading with Sasuke to stay. Fugaku was shouting after him but Izumi watched as Sasuke just stormed out the front door, slamming it behind him.

"Did you see how he was dressed? Like one of those skate punks─"

"You went too far Fugaku."

Izumi couldn't see Mikoto but she could her speaking clearly as if she was standing right at the opening of the great room.

"You should have told me the reason why you had to suspend Taiko. Mebuki's my friend and Sakura is her daughter, I─"

"I thought you two weren't speaking. Weren't you two fighting last week?"

"It was a disagreement. It doesn't stop us from being friends." Mikoto's voice wavered on 'friends'. Izumi frowned at that. "You shouldn't have spoken to Sasuke like that. Not about one of his friends."

"They're doing things that friends don't do, Mikoto."

There was a pause. Izumi pressed her face against the bars in shock.

 _He knows!?_

"What do you mean?"

Izumi could hear the trepidation she felt in Mikoto's voice.

"He was found in the Family Planning aisle Mikoto."

Izumi drew in a breath. _At least he's using protection_.

"Well, so was Naruto. You don't know who was actually purchasing them."

 _Naruto? Huh, never thought he would need them so soon._

"I've caught your son with condoms before, Mikoto."

"He's your son as well, Fugaku. When did you catch him with them?"

"...Months after we transferred him to KSS."

"What did you say to him?"

Izumi gulped. There was an icy tone to Mikoto's voice she only ever heard when she was waiting for one of her children and their friends to confess to something they had done.

"I just reprimanded him and told him that he was too young and that it was improper for him to conduct in such a manner with someone that wasn't his wife."

"Fugaku. Preaching abstinence doesn't stop teenagers from having sex. And I'm sure you weren't as understanding as you could have been and talked to him in a calm manner."

"I was calm. At least until your smart ass son said that just because he had a box of condoms it didn't mean that he was having sex."

 _Really Sasuke?_ Izumi slapped her forehead.

"Well to be fair, he's right. Better to have them beforehand just in case."

"The box was almost empty, Mikoto."

There was an awkward pause. Izumi could almost feel the heat coming off of Mikoto's face from the embarrassment. She felt bad that Mikoto had to discuss her son's sex life with her husband.

"Is...is this why Sakura hadn't been coming around?"

"That was a choice she made on her own."

"Fugaku what did you do?" Mikoto's voice came out strained.

"I just explained that the two of them were acting in a manner─"

"You spoke to _her_!?" Mikoto's voice rose an octave in her disbelief. "You can't parent another person's child! What exactly did you say to her?"

There was a pause. Izumi held her breath, hoping to catch a whisper, anything. A moment later she heard the clicking of Mikoto's heels against the marble floor and then the slamming of a door.

 _Itachi isn't going to like hearing about this._

* * *

Sakura went out back to the dumpster to throw away the garbage before the end of her shift. She could feel the night breeze tickle her neck and she touched her nape, sighing forlornly.

She had grown her hair out long ever since it was cut during the assault she faced visiting Sasuke at Oto and she never thought her hair would be short again.

 _That's the last time I'll get drunk with Karin and Ino._

Because the sleepover at Ino's two weeks back was such a hit with Karin, who never really had that kind of relationship with any girl where she would sleep over at their house, they continued to have sleepovers. They ended up drinking and Sakura woke up with a throbbing headache and one of her low pigtails chopped off right below where her hair tie had been.

The three of them had vague memories of what happened that night but they were sure Karin got into a fight with a catcaller at the convenience store during a snack run, Ino had downed two cans of whipped cream, and that it was definitely Sakura that cut her own hair. That or neither girl wanted to take responsibility for doing it.

Ino had screamed when she saw Sakura's hair barely skimming her shoulder. She had grumbled and whined all throughout breakfast the following day but got over it by that afternoon. Now it was Sunday and Ino kept sending Sakura photos of what she could do with her hair for Prom now that it was short.

A set of lights beaming right at her and the dumpster caused Sakura to tense up. Technically the back door was opened up a crack with a brick so her father and Marco could hear if she needed help, but it still freaked her out.

The lights and engine were cut off and Sakura had to blink to adjust her eyes to the new darkness. A car door opened and Sakura's eyes finally adjusted when she saw her frowning boyfriend stalk towards her.

"Sakura we need to─what happened to your hair?"

Sasuke's hand went straight to Sakura's hair and he fingered the short locks, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Sakura had last seen him before her sleepover on Friday and she still hadn't told him about her haircut.

"It's not long anymore," Sakura murmured. She was disappointed by how short it was after having grown it out. Sasuke said her short hair was fine before but she always had a sinking suspicion that he preferred her hair long.

"It's still pink. That's all that matters." Sasuke smirked at her and weaved his fingers into her hair. Sakura leaned into his touch, rest her cheek on his palm. "When were you going to tell me that my cousin has been stalking you?"

Sasuke's voice was so soft that someone else might have missed his anger. Although Sakura could feel the concern, the disappointment was heavy in his tone.

"I didn't want you to worry about it. You have so much going on." Sasuke's eyes softened and he nodded in understanding. "And it stopped months ago. Like after winter break."

Sasuke pulled her head toward him and rest his lips against her forehead. There was a pause in their conversation and Sakura took advantage of it to look over as much of Sasuke as she could. He was wearing an open purple and black flannel shirt with a white Sublime shirt underneath. She tilted her head up and noticed that he was wearing a light beanie even though it was late Spring.

She slipped her arms around his waist and he patted the top of her head.

"I think Shisui had something to do with it." Sasuke sighed and scowled lightly. "I'm going to have to thank him later."

"What makes you say that?"

Sasuke bit his lower lip and averted his gaze. After another silent moment he turned his attention back to her.

"There's something I haven't told you about because it wasn't any of your business. It's not up to me to share it because it's my brother's secret not mine and, well, Shisui is involved. I think Taiko got mad at Shisui for interfering in whatever the fuck he was thinking with following you around and he shifted his focus on fucking with him and my brother."

"Okay." Sakura nodded, still not sure what could have been so bad that it had to be a secret, but understanding nonetheless that that was as much as she was going to be getting out of him.

"I don't want to go back home."

Sakura scanned Sasuke's face, looking for something. She wasn't sure exactly what it was that she was looking for but she took his hand in hers and rubbed the top of his hand with her thumb.

"Okay. Where do you wanna go?"

* * *

Itachi cradled his face on his seatbelt, looking out the window. It had been so long since Sasuke had run away from home that he no longer knew where to look for him.

"We'll find him, Ita." Izumi sat forward, on the edge of her seat and rest her chin on the top of Itachi's chair. Shisui reached over and took his hand in his.

"He's probably with one of his other friends. Just because Kushina Uzumaki hasn't seen him tonight doesn't mean that something has happened to him."

Itachi ignored him and kept looking out the window. Shisui might have grown up alongside him and Sasuke but he didn't have the same bond that he and Sasuke had as brothers.

 _Itachi smiled gently at Sasuke. His face was scratched up from the branches of the bush he had been hiding in and the cutest pout a nine year old could possess graced his features._

" _Now what were you thinking, hiding in there?"_

 _Itachi pulled out a pack of tissues he had in his messenger bag and wiped the dirt off of Sasuke's face. When his mother had called him and told him Sasuke hadn't come home from school, he left his house immediately, taking his schoolbag with him. Because his brother was only nine he went to all of Sasuke's favorite places that a child could get to. Which is why it was so easy to find him in Sarutobi Park's hiking trail._

" _I thought maybe...father would come. If I were gone, maybe he would notice."_

 _Sasuke wiped at his eyes with his sleeve. Itachi noticed how torn up his brother's turtle neck was and took off his hoodie, slipping Sasuke's little arms through the sleeves._

" _Let's call Mom. She's been driving around looking for you. You made her really worried."_

" _Do you think she'll be mad?" Sasuke sniffed. Itachi rubbed the top of his head, ruffling his feathery hair._

" _No," Itachi shook his head, "I think she'll just be happy that you're alright. But you'll definitely be grounded. How did you run away without anyone noticing?"_

" _Naruto had soccer practice so he went home. And Sakura is hanging out with Ino. So no one could tell Mom where I went to."_

 _Itachi bit his lip, not wanting to upset his younger brother by laughing. There was so much disgust in his voice when he said 'soccer' and 'Ino'. It was adorable._

" _Come on." Itachi held out his hand and Sasuke took it. It was a pretty long walk back home so they were going to have to wait for their mother to come pick them up. "Are you hungry? I should have some crackers in my bag."_

" _I have a sandwich and my water bottle in my backpack."_

" _Oh," Itachi rubbed his knuckles against Sasuke's scalp, "so you planned this, huh? Good thing it's only been like thirty minutes since your bus should have dropped you off. A sandwich wasn't going to last you long."_

 _Sasuke pouted, looking away from his brother. His ears were pink, displaying his embarrassment. Itachi took out his phone and called his mother, telling her that she could find them at the park and they would wait at the bleachers of the baseball field._

 _They took a seat and Itachi took out his SAT prep book. He was only in eighth grade but he wasn't planning to go to high school. He already took most high school courses online through a program provided by the county. His mother wanted him to go to school for the social aspect but he never really got along with other kids._

" _Why doesn't father see me?"_

 _Itachi put his book down and looked at Sasuke who was drawing a line in the sand with his shoe._

" _He never comes to my recitals. Or my tournaments."_

 _Itachi frowned._

" _That's not true─"_

" _Yes it is. He goes to_ your _tournaments. But he's always too busy for me." Sasuke bent his head even lower. "Mom says he talks about me all of the time and that he says he likes my playing but he never shows up. He never goes to my recitals so how can he like it when I play the piano if he's never there."_

 _Itachi sighed inwardly. There was not much he could say in his father's defense that hadn't been said before._

" _What? I'm not good enough? I go to all of your recitals." Itach feigned hurt and watched as his younger brother sputtered out that he was more than good enough, face flushed bright pink. "You know, Shisui and Izumi want to hear you play."  
_ " _Shisui doesn't have to come." Sasuke turned his nose up, looking haughtier than a grade schooler should. "And Izumi would make too much of a fuss. You know she likes when little kids dress up."_

" _You're just annoyed that she likes to play dress up with Sakura Haruno."_

" _We were busy!" Sasuke defended himself, ears burning red now. "She can't judge properly if Izumi keeps pulling her away to mess with her hair and stuff."_

 _Itachi chuckled and held out his hands in defense as Sasuke pushed him and prattled on his complaints about his older brother's best friends. He was distracted from his problems with their father, which is what Itachi was hoping for._

 _He knew his brother so well._

That wasn't the case anymore. He didn't even know what was going on with Sasuke and his cousin and why they were fighting. He couldn't think of a single place that Sasuke would run away to now. Sasuke never came to him with his problems or talked to him nowadays. Itachi still only knew vaguely about Sasuke's experience in Oto. Itachi stared out at the Konoha night scene, wondering when it was that Sasuke became an enigma.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _**Anyone ever run away...and then come back home only to realize that no one had even noticed you had been gone the whole time?**_

 _ **I was struggling with writing. I knew what I wanted but it wouldn't come out. Hopefully next chapter flows out better.**_


	20. It's Always More Complicated

**Chapter Twenty: It's Always More Complicated**

 _Addicting. Slowly, the taste of watermelon lip gloss was becoming addicting. Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed, both in confusion of how appealing he found something sweet and from a pleasant kind of frustration kissing Sakura always caused._

 _Sakura grinded her hips in a circle, causing another sort of frustration._

" _No." Sasuke reprimanded her, holding her hips tight so that she couldn't move. She lost their race through the woods so she had to go at his pace not hers._

" _I want to touch you too." Sakura had a way of murmuring her complaints that made Sasuke want to give in to her requests._

" _Maybe later." Sasuke lifted her off of his lap so that he was at eye level with her navel and unzipped her short sleeve hoodie. He dipped his head down and pressed hot, open mouthed kisses on her stomach, trailing up her torso._

 _Sakura gasped when Sasuke pushed her sports bra up and cupped both of her breasts in his hand. They were starting to fill out and weigh heavier in his palms. He slid his hand around her to her back to push her towards him. He kissed the freckle on her right breast, now sitting under the swell. His favorite freckle. A mark on her body only he knew about._

 _Making sure to keep eye contact, Sasuke twirled his tongue around a pink nipple and sucked gently, watching as Sakura's face flushed red and her eyes teared up from frustration._

" _You're acting like such an ass right now."_

" _Ass?" Sasuke's hands slid down until he reached her backside and he squeezed, causing Sakura to whimper._

" _If you don't hurry up someone might find us here," Sakura attempted to get Sasuke to stop with his teasing touches._

" _No one's going to find us."_

 _Sasuke placed a kiss between Sakura's breasts. He pressed another kiss a little lower and then lower, lower, and lower more, bunching the waistband of her shorts in his hands and sliding them off. He pressed a kiss to the inside of her right thigh, nipped at it and then sucked the spot. Another mark only he would know about._

" _We're perfectly hidden away."_

* * *

"I'm _not_ lying. I really don't know where they are!"

Itachi narrowed his eyes at Naruto. He stared at him for a while, waiting for Naruto's resolve to break. Naruto looked down at his feet and rubbed the back of his neck.

"If I knew where they were I would have brought them home already."

Itachi sighed, knowing that Naruto was probably telling him the truth. Sasuke hadn't come home last night and hadn't showed up for school, breaking his perfect attendance. To make matters worse, _Sakura_ was also missing.

Mebuki Haruno had come storming into the Uchiha precinct and banged on his father's office door. There was a lot of muffled shouting and then she stormed out of the station, her victory rolls falling out of place and red in the face. Itachi entered the office and saw his father's eye twitching, almost unnoticeably. It was the only detail that proved he wasn't as calm and composed as he was pretending to be after his encounter with Mebuki.

"I'm surprised that you don't have a GPS tracker on Sasuke's Jeep," Naruto mumbled. "And he said he's fine and that he'll come home soon didn't he?"

During his search of the city, Sasuke texted him hours after he had stormed out of their house telling him that he was fine and that he just didn't want to be home at the moment. Itachi tried to call him after that, hoping he would finally answer the call, but it went straight to voicemail.

"Yes but he didn't clarify what soon meant. Our mother is worried sick and my father is fighting with Mrs. Haruno." Itachi rose from Naruto's computer chair and made to leave. "We need to find them soon."

When Itachi entered the hallway it felt as if someone was watching him. He looked down the hall where the door covered with a curtain of gold chains was cracked open a bit. The cinnamon colored hair of Naruto's cousin could be seen through the spaces of the chains.

"I don't know anything." Karin slammed her door shut before Itachi could get the question out of his mouth.

 _Loyal to a fault these Uzumakis…_

Itachi made his way back home. It wasn't too long of a walk but the cul-de-sac he lived on was uphill.

The hill was perfect for sledding during snow days when no one was likely to be driving around. When Itachi's parents chose the property at the top of the hill to tear down and rebuild, the hill was never taken into consideration. It wasn't until Sasuke was old enough to go out and play on his own did Mikoto start to show concern.

" _I told Fugaku not to buy him that skateboard!"_

His mother had been so livid when Sasuke came home bruised and scratched up from crashing into one of the neighbors down the hill's pick-up truck. At the age of eleven, Naruto and Sasuke had the smart idea to tie a rope to the back of Naruto's bike and sort of pull along the person riding the skateboard.

The two hadn't considered the hill in their plans and Sasuke rolled past Naruto and Naruto panicked and tried to swerve and brake which lead to the both of them getting injured. Sasuke hit a truck and Naruto crashed into a wooden fence with his bike.

Itachi stopped in his tracks and looked down the hill. The house right at the bottom still had a wooden fence, freshly painted white only a few weeks ago. He chuckled remembering that seven years ago Naruto's punishment had been to paint the part of the fence that had been damaged from his crash.

 _And Sasuke got his skateboard taken away of course._

Mikoto had confiscated the skateboard and had stowed it away in the garage. She never did want him to have it. She thought they were too dangerous but Fugaku had gifted the skateboard to Sasuke, some type of reward or something. Itachi couldn't remember what for exactly. Only that it was sitting in Sasuke's room when he got home from school one day.

As quietly as he could move, Itachi snuck upstairs before his mother could corner him and ask him if Naruto had said anything. Mikoto wanted to hunt him down and bring him home. Fugaku was fine with waiting until he got home.

Itachi wasn't sure why he was so confident that Sasuke would be coming home soon or at all.

Itachi paused in turning his doorknob when he heard music coming from across the hall. Puzzled, he knocked on the study's door.

"Come in."

Itachi opened the door and his father shuffled folders on his desk. Pulling his reading glasses on top of his head, Fugaku clasped his hands together and rest his mouth against them. Itachi almost did a double take. Sasuke looked like their mother while he, himself, took after their father but the gesture threw him off.

"Naruto doesn't know where he is." Itachi spoke slowly, concentrating more on the light piano music coming from the computer's speakers.

"I didn't expect he would." Fugaku sighed and pulled another folder from his pile to read through. "If Naruto knew where Sasuke and Sakura Haruno were I'm sure he would have led us right to them, intentionally or not. Sasuke would have known better than to share his location."

Itachi left the doorway, finally entering the room. The closer he got to his father's desk the more familiar the music started to sound. It was pleasant and cheerful. A gentle piece and yet not something he would expect his father to listen to. Itachi didn't even know what type of music his father favored. He didn't seem to be the type to listen to music and form an opinion on it.

"It wouldn't matter anyway because I know where he is."

Itachi's eyes widened as he stared down at his father who had continued to work. When Itachi didn't respond, Fugaku peered up at him and raised an eyebrow. Itachi's look of shock melted into a glare and Fugaku once again sighed and removed his reading glasses.

"I just found out. I forgot about the location feature on iPhones and it turns out that Sasuke has turned his phone on momentarily."

"Why haven't you said anything?"

"Because he'll come home when he's ready to. He's not that far away. Somewhere in a residential area of WesKo. Where Kakashi Hatake just happens to live."

"Kakashi Hatake?"

"Yes. Your brother did always like him." Fugaku made a noise that Itachi could only describe as a snort. "We'll have to apologize to him when he comes around for your next appointment."

"Obito checked with Kakashi last night."

"I'm sure Sasuke wasn't there last night. Knowing Obito, he would have pushed himself into Hatake's apartment and would have ended up finding him." Fugaku ran a hand through his hair and Itachi narrowed his eyes. Yet again, another gesture that reminded him of Sasuke. It was odd how it was much easier to notice now.

And why couldn't he remember where he had heard the song playing before? It had repeated again. His father was playing it on a loop.

"You don't work in the study often."

"Your mother doesn't like when I bring work into the bedroom."

Itachi had noticed that his parents were drifting apart again. Ever since Sasuke had started working his mother was in a better mood most days and freer with her affection for his father when they were around the house. It all stopped instantly after Sasuke ran out of the house. Itachi was thrown off when he saw his father brushing his teeth in the joint bathroom between his room and the guest room.

Izumi had told him that they had been fighting. She tried to summarize everything for him but that she wasn't sure what the final straw was because she didn't hear Fugaku's answer.

Itachi knew what the answer was: silence.

His parents were the type for quiet affection. Secret looks and they communicated in a way that made outsider's think they were communicating telepathically. It would not have surprised Itachi if his mother felt hurt and greatly insulted that his father would do something behind her back and then refuse to talk about it. Especially after finding out about another secret.

But that's what their family was full of: secrets.

Itachi could observe and come to his own conclusions when it came to his family members and he was usually right. But he was starting to lose the ability to figure out their secrets. And as someone who kept his own secrets, it wasn't hard to see when others had them.

And Sasuke had them. His father had them. They were piling up and Itachi didn't even know where to start with cracking them. Maybe with just a simple question, that had been bothering him since he came into the study.

"That's a nice song." Itachi nodded toward the computer. "Who's the artist?"

Fugaku smirked and leaned back in his computer chair.

"You can't tell? You were there when he performed it."

Itachi raised an eyebrow to hide how taken aback he was. It made sense now why the piece sounded familiar but he was a little discomforted by the fact that he couldn't recognize a song that Sasuke had played before.

"When I became police chief, the time demands made it even harder to make it to recitals or to tournaments. I didn't even have time for a single basketball game." Fugaku closed his eyes, mouth drawn into a tight line. "I asked Sasuke's instructor to record his rehearsals and events."

There. The answer to the CDs in his father's filing cabinets.

"Your mother use to scold me for spoiling Sasuke too much." There was twinkle in his father's eyes when he opened them. "After performances, especially ones he placed in, I would always buy him something I remembered her telling me in passing that he wanted. Usually small things, like CDs for those bands he likes. I got him that record player when he was fourteen. An iPod Classic when he was fifteen. But nothing was worse than getting him that skateboard when he was only eleven. Mikoto _hated_ that thing. I had to take it away. Gave him that video game thing he use to carry around in his pocket all of the time to replace it."

Now that was a secret Itachi wasn't prepared for. He felt a little ashamed now, thinking that all of the wonderful things in Sasuke's room were things their mother had bought him. Ashamed for thinking his father had no interest in his younger brother other than making sure he was a perfect Uchiha son.

"Buying his guitar was one of the most embarrassing experiences of my life. I don't know anything about music or instruments. I didn't know what would be best to get your brother and I wanted it to be a surprise. A gift for for the highest scorer in Oto Prep's basketball team, and he was only a freshman. I just entered the store and walked around a little, unsure of what I was doing until a sales associate took mercy on me and asked me if I needed help."

Itachi chuckled along with his father. He could picture his stern father glaring at the rows of hung guitars, trying to figure out exactly which one Sasuke would like.

"Rustles of Spring." Fugaku got up and opened up the same filing cabinet that Itachi had in his search of blank discs. "It's the name of the piece that's playing right now."

Fugaku handed Itachi a disc. It read Sasuke Uchiha: Spring Recital, age 11.

"There are two other pieces in there that your brother considered. They're all amazing, but what do I know, I'm clearly just a doting parent. He ended up doing track two, Rustles of Spring. I always wondered why Spring. Seemed too cliché for your brother, a piece about Spring for a Spring recital."

Fugaku sat back in his plush computer chair with a slight groan.

"The answer was quite clear when he didn't throw away that bouquet until your mother told him enough was enough and she wouldn't stand for any more wilted petals making a mess on his bedroom floor. He liked them almost even more than the damn skateboard."

Itachi frowned. His mother loved gardening and tending to plants but didn't like bouquets. Maybe that's what made the bouquet special? It was the first and only one? But that wouldn't make sense because other people like some of the girls that were in competition with his younger brother, smitten with the quiet dark eyed boy who played piano, would gift him roses.

Roses that he wouldn't bring home but gave to his instructor. But there was a bouquet that came home. One with flowers like the ones Sasuke asked their mother to help him procure for a certain thirteen year old girl's birthday.

Flowers that were given back and forth before there even was a Sasuke and Sakura.

"Father? I'm still confused. Why don't you want Sasuke to date Sakura?"

"Ah." Fugaku looked down at his silver wristwatch. "I need to be heading to that budget meeting. And I haven't eaten lunch. I guess that's what I get for using my lunch break to do work."

" _Father_."

Fugaku paused in his packing to look up at Itachi. Itachi just stared at his father, too tired to glare or look upset with him. It felt like they were going around in circles.

"I am running late, Itachi. Now if you'll excuse me."

Itachi's hands tightened into fists. Every time he tried to have a conversation with his father something had to get in the way. His father avoided him every time he tried to bring up the topic.

There had to be a way to get him to stop and talk to him like he just did earlier.

* * *

"No."

Sasuke winced as he got hit on top of his head with the spine of Kakashi's orange paperback. Sasuke whipped around to glare at him but Kakashi was already turning back to his living room.

"I thought I told you that you're on the pull out couch. Uchihas get the couch, remember?"

"Not sure I wanna sleep where Obito has been," Sasuke muttered but followed him into his living room.

A pug was curled up on the couch staring at the television. His head moved back and forth as he watched tennis players return volleys. The way he barked when the audience clapped made it seem like he understood what was going on.

"Come one Pakkun. Teens gotta sleep."

Reluctantly the pug hopped off the couch and settled himself on a severely chewed on accent chair. Sasuke grimaced, able to picture his mother's look of horror at the state of most of Kakashi's furniture.

" _You can't keep him." Fugaku's brows were furrowed. It wasn't his usual angry look, the one that accompanied the pull of his eyebrows. It was more conflicted. But all Sasuke cared about was the words that left his father's mouth._

" _I'll do all of the work. I can take care of him!" Sasuke pulled the black patched white cat closer to his chest, his small arms wrapping around as much of the cat as he could._

" _You can't always keep an eye on him, Sasuke." Fugaku gently took the cat from him, cradling it in his arms. "You're a busy kid. Cats can damage things and you will be held responsible. I'll find a good home for…?"_

" _Moo."_

" _Moo?" His father looked down at the cat and raised an eyebrow. "I guess that's fitting. Better than what your mother called him when she found the shards of her crystal vase."_

" _Yeah…" Sasuke's facial muscles quivered, trying to hold back a smile. His mother looked so flustered trying to cover up the fact that she had just cursed in front of him. She wasn't one to use vulgar language so he knew his mother didn't appreciate having an animal in her home._

Mikoto didn't want to disappoint Sasuke but she wasn't in favor of letting him keep a pet at his age. Fugaku took the role of the bad guy and broke the news to him.

"Okay, so there's extra blankets in the hall closet." Kakashi stood up, hands on his hips, staring at the pull out couch. "You can rest for a bit. I'll wake you up for dinner and then you'll go home?"

Sasuke grunted in response. He wanted to spend another night away from home but Kakashi had been adamant about him returning, especially since he brought Sakura along with him. He would have waited until it was too late in the day to be turned away but Sakura's head kept drooping and she had rubbed her eyes a few too many times.

Sasuke was use to going without sleep but his Jeep wasn't the ideal place to rest. After spending the night talking and curling up in his backseat they decided they didn't want to go to school and ended up spending the day in River Side. It was a cute little area in River Place right on the river with old timey looking shops where people could go on boat rides or rent canoes. But it was also five minutes away from Shisui's apartment.

"Really?"

Sasuke looked up and saw Kakashi dash into his kitchen, holding his cell phone to his ear.

"Now's not the best time."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Adults were always trying to get some privacy in the wrong places. When a teenager was out of sight they were out of mind apparently.

"I have two teenagers at my place. I would rather not leave them alone with each other."

Sasuke scoffed and laid back on the pull out couch. As much as he would like to be lying down by Sakura instead of alone in the living room, it had nothing to do with his hormones. Just silent companionship was all he needed.

Contrary to what his brother had insinuated the evening Sakura had stayed for dinner, it wasn't as if all he and Sakura did when she came over was fool around. Some nights all they did was curl up together and whisper through the night until they were too tired to talk any longer.

"Looks like one of them already fell asleep."

Sasuke relaxed his body more. If he continued to appear to be sleeping perhaps Kakashi would stop watching over him.

"Yeah, your cousin is an idiot. Showed up just like you thought he would. Only this time with a girlfriend."

Sasuke had to refrain from scowling as to not give himself away. He heard Kakashi move about the room and down the hall and then come back to the living room.

"Alright I'll go see to your mother. If they do anything though you're paying for the clean up."

The front door opened up and Sasuke could barely hear Kakashi say something about his dogs being cleaner than Obito before Kakashi's van was started and then backed out of the driveway.

There was a small creak of a door from down the hall and then there was a weight pushing down on the other side of the pull out couch. A thin arm wrapped around his waist and Sakura sighed contently, snuggling her face between Sasuke's shoulder blades. Sasuke turned over and pulled Sakura closer to him, tucking her head under his chin.

"I can't sleep in someone else's bed…"

"That's never stopped you before."

"It's different when it's your bed." Sakura squirmed, trying to get comfortable until Sasuke grunted in annoyance. "I set an alarm on my phone for an hour. Wanna leave before Kakashi comes back?"

Sasuke didn't want to leave at all. He didn't want to be at Kakashi's longer than necessary but he didn't want to go home.

Didn't want to go back to listening to the sounds of assisted breathing. Didn't want to go back to the worried looks from his mother. Didn't want to see the indifferent look his father gave him when he tried to be the perfect son and then only be met with any change in his father's expression when he upset him.

Didn't want to go back to the awkward way everyone in his family tiptoed around each other, trying to keep their secrets secret. Didn't want to go back to how everything was so disjointed in their family.

"We're going to have our own place one day." Sakura brushed his hair out of his face. "Somewhere where we don't have to hide. Just you and me."

"Little soon to be proposing don't you think?"

Sakura's jaw dropped and her face glowed hot pink. She made a high pitched whining sound and then started to sputter out an unintelligible response. Sasuke let out a quiet laugh that got her clamming up and glaring at him.

"Stop teasing me! You know what I meant."

"Aa. Just go to sleep."

They tried to curl up together but then the pug from earlier jumped onto the bed and squashed himself in between the two of them, burying his face into Sakura's hair and turning his bottom so that it was pressed against Sasuke's chest. Sakura giggled and patted his small furry body, closing her eyes to finally get some sleep.

A place of their own sounded nice. But it sounded like it meant he had to choose between his family and Sakura. Where was the option where he could have both in his life?

* * *

Waking up to Kakashi looming over them and two more dogs having crawled onto the pull out couch was unsettling. In her tired state Sakura had forgotten that she had left her phone charging in the master bedroom and when it rang they had missed it.

Sasuke and Sakura put everything back in order and declined Kakashi's invitation for dinner. Even though Sasuke wanted to delay his return home, it wasn't fair to the Harunos to not know where Sakura was.

"You don't have to come in. Seriously."

As much as Sasuke would have liked to avoid a run in with Mebuki Haruno, he had to face Sakura's parents and apologize to them. Partially because he truly did feel sorry for involving Sakura in his personal issues and also because it was what his mother would have expected him to do considering how she raised him.

And it was time to stop hiding away.

" _Where have you been?"_ Mebuki Haruno hissed, she had made her way to them from behind the counter so quickly that if Sasuke hadn't been watching her he would would have thought that she had jumped over the counter. "You two had us all worried sick!"

Mebuki gripped Sakura's face in between her hands and examined her, checking to make sure if anything were wrong. Sasuke's eyes went wide in panic when Mebuki grabbed his face and pulled him down to meet her eyes and she scanned him the same as Sakura. Once she deemed him alright she exhaled and closed her eyes. Only to open them and start shouting.

"Where have you two been? Did it not occur to you that we might have thought the worst? No phone call, no note. Don't even get me started on the fact that you kids seem to always have a dead battery and no charger for your cell phones!"

Sasuke took a glance at Sakura from his peripheral. He had purposefully turned his phone off but Sakura was the one that was always letting her phone die. Her face was bright pink from the humiliation of being lectured.

"Mebuki."

Kizashi had left the kitchen when his wife had started shouting. He nodded his head toward the rest of the café. There were a few patrons having dinner or coffee at tables.

"Maybe you should take Sakura home?" Kizashi held up their car keys. "Make sure she gets something decent to eat and a hot shower. You can yell at her after."

Mebuki pursed her lips and glared at her husband. She looked like she had a lot more to say but she snatched the keys out of his hands. She pushed Sakura out the front door leaving Sasuke and Kizashi standing in the front of the store among the baskets and shelves of bread.

Sasuke looked up at Kizashi and shifted uncomfortably under his stare.

"I─"

"Take a seat Sasuke." Kizashi gestured to the bar top at the other side of the counter. Hesitantly Sasuke took a seat on a stool and watched Kizashi enter the kitchen again.

Sasuke sighed and propped his elbows on the counter and cradled his chin on top of his clasped hands. As he waited for whatever it was that Kizashi was doing he stared at the wooden surface. It was now covered with a protective glass but all of the graffiti underneath remained. It took a while but he found Naruto's initials and a crude drawing of a cup of ramen that smiled up at him. A moment later he found an uchiwa that he had carved into the wood one day while bored.

A plate was placed in front of him carrying a cup of tomato soup and half of a grilled cheese sandwich.

"Thank you but you didn't have to─"

"It's Tuesday," Kizashi cut him off. "It's the Soup Of The Day."

Tuesdays. The day that Sasuke had to go to therapy. It also happened to be the day that Sasuke use to drop by the Budding Cherry Blossom after his day at Oto, not wanting to go home quite yet.

Tuesdays had once been the day for french onion soup. Sasuke couldn't remember when exactly Kizashi had changed the menu but Tuesdays were now tomato soup day.

"Thank you."

Sasuke ate in silence. The back of his neck felt warm and he felt as if his movements were jerky and awkward now that he was under the scope of Kizashi Haruno's stare.

"Next time," Kizashi waited for Sasuke to look up at him, "just crash on our couch. It would save your father from having Mebuki yell at him in his own station."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at his girlfriend's father. What was he playing at?

"You would be fine with having your daughter and her boyfriend under the same roof?"

"So she _is_ your girlfriend!" Kizashi let out a chortle. "I may not be as proper or traditional as you Uchihas but _I_ at least went and introduced myself to Mebuki's parents when our relationship led into that direction."

The back of Sasuke's neck was blazing with heat. Mebuki Haruno might have been one of the scariest women he had ever met but it was Kizashi that always found a way to make him uncomfortable. He wasn't like any other father he knew.

"You already knew me…" Sasuke muttered. He stuffed a good spoonful of soup into his mouth to give himself something to do in the awkward pause.

"Every year, I send a photo of Sakura to her grandparents." Kizashi pulled away Sasuke's empty bowl. "They never respond but they also don't tell me to stop."

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Sakura never spoke about her grandparents. There was a shrine in the corner of the Haruno family's living room that contained photos of Kizashi's parents and an ultrasound of the baby they had lost. But he had never seen a single photo of her maternal grandparents.

"I don't think families should live like that."

 _No they shouldn't_. Sasuke stared at his hands on the countertop, following the lines of his veins with his eyes. It was getting hard to look at Kizashi.

"I think it's time for you to go home Sasuke." Slowly, Sasuke turned his head up to look at Kizashi. "The people who love you are waiting for you to go home."

 _The people who love me…_

Sasuke slipped his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it. He looked at the red circles with their numbers. A flooding of missed calls and text messages he hadn't bothered to open.

"Good night Mr. Haruno."

Time to go home. No more hiding.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _Hello. I've been really busy at work since school starts on Tuesday and I will stay busy for the first few weeks. I've also been feeling unwell and getting sick often so everything is kind of piling up on me._

 _Next update will be a little different than the chapter so far. New POV. It may be late._

 _Readers of TPOAM expect a new chapter this month. I'm just really busy so I don't know when it will be out but hopefully soon._


	21. Hypocrite

**Chapter Twenty-One: Hypocrite**

There was something so fragile, even more so than other babies, about Sasuke. Fugaku would cradle him in trembling arms, worried that even his breathing could cause his second born to shatter.

Sasuke was such a delicate child. He was always so fussy and particular about how he wanted to be or he would scream with more power than his little lungs should have.

Sasuke slept in his and Mikoto's room the first year. Fugaku would rise from his bed at the first whimpers. He would place his hand on top of Sasuke's head and his baby would lean into his touch giving a final whine before settling against him, mewling softly.

There were times when his touch couldn't settle his child and even if he went to help Sasuke with whatever was ailing him, Sasuke would cry until his mother took hold of him.

It was unsettling and every time Sasuke would wail for his mother, Fugaku felt discouraged. Itachi had never needed him and when Sasuke cried he felt useless.

There was not much he could do for his son.

* * *

Silence. For the past twenty-five years Fugaku had woken up to the sounds of his wife pattering around their room getting ready for the day. Today he woke up to silence.

Fighting with his wife wasn't something that usually happened. It was a rather rare occurrence for them to get into an argument and usually they were settled immediately.

It was strange getting ready for the day alone. Fugaku never really lived the "bachelor life". He was still living with his parents when he began to court Mikoto. She was the youngest of the girls his grandmother had tried to set him up with but he was smitten the moment he met her. So smitten that he had supported her wishes to go to college instead of getting married after she graduated high school.

Fugaku's grandparents were against it. They had desired Mikoto to become his housewife and support, but so in love was he that he moved out of his home and got an apartment near the school Mikoto attended. They got married when she was twenty and if the apartment was dirty every now and then or if they had to order out he wouldn't have minded. But Mikoto had proven to be a menace when it came to cleanliness and disliked take out food.

" _I can do both. Obaa-san will have no complaints."_

And do both she did. She even graduated, belly all round, pregnant with Itachi. She refused to miss a single class even though both her mother and Fugaku's would have preferred that she stayed home and prepared for motherhood.

Fugaku closed the guest room door, not surprised that the smell of food cooking was missing. Ever since Sasuke had stormed out of the house and Fugaku had angered Mikoto, she had been sleeping in later instead of waking up to prepare breakfast for her husband who was the first to rise and get ready for the day.

Fugaku wouldn't have minded if Mikoto just needed the rest. But the cold pastry bread and the weak coffee he made, tasted of loneliness.

* * *

Sasuke glared at Sakura who was muffling her giggles with her hand. He rubbed his head which was now throbbing from having banged against the window after the bus hit a pothole.

"That woke you up didn't it?"

"I hate the bus."

As punishment for running away, Sasuke's keys to his Jeep were taken away. Originally, Mikoto was going to drive him to and from school but Sakura had convinced him to take the bus with her. Sasuke didn't mind riding with a bus full of underclassmen but the pick up time was earlier than he would have liked and sleeping on the bus wasn't an option with how often the bus hit bumps in the road.

"So what's going on with your job?"

"Naruto...is taking me."

Sakura burst out laughing at the disgusted face that Sasuke made. Sasuke refused to quit his job despite his father telling him he was no longer allowed to have a part time. Sakura had spent a day helping him navigate public transportation but when he had shifts directly after school it would be impossible to make it on time.

"I still can't believe he finally got his license." Sakura's eyes went wide in horror. Naruto was the worst driver out of all of their friends. He was already one of the youngest so he became eligible for his license after everyone but actually getting his license kept getting pushed back because he kept failing to pass his Behind The Wheel course. "At least he won't be bugging anyone for rides or taking the bus anymore."

"I can't believe his parents actually let him get an _orange_ car." Sasuke shuddered. The car was an obscene and obnoxious shade of orange. He was dreading having to ride in it later that day.

"I think I'll take the bus back home. I'm not sure I wanna get in a car if he's driving."  
"Good call. Wait. Doesn't Karin usually give you a ride?"

"She's not going to school today."

Sasuke nodded in understanding. Karin had been in and out of classes all of last week, much to Suigetsu's annoyance. Sasuke wasn't particularly close to Karin so he didn't know why she was missing and he didn't have enough interest in the matter to ask Sakura or Naruto if they knew what was going on.

Sasuke was about to nod off again when he felt slim fingers slide down his palm and interlock with his own fingers.

"Just until we get to school?" Sakura cocked her head to the side and smiled softly.

Sasuke just turned his head to the side to look out the window. In response he squeezed Sakura's hand gently.

Sakura hummed contently. It might have been a loud and noisy bus but at least they were still together.

* * *

Fugaku never bragged, but he was so proud of his sons. They were so smart and so talented. So, _so_ , proud of them. Especially of Sasuke. Everything always came so easy to Itachi but Sasuke had to work hard for everything he had. Any praise Sasuke got he deserved for all of his efforts.

Sasuke suffered the fate of being born late in Fugaku's career so by the time he was ready to enjoy activities outside of his academics his father was unable to be there for him physically to support him. Fugaku had plenty of money to fund Sasuke's hobbies but it just wasn't the same.

He had never expected his son to abuse ritalin in order to keep up with his studies. He would never have pushed Sasuke to accept the invitation to attend Oto Prep. The pressure from the school to excel had been too much for his son.

And from him as well.

Fugaku couldn't deny that he had such high expectations for his sons. He wanted the best for them and knew they had the potential for so much. He didn't expect them to want to follow in his footsteps and join the force but Itachi had chosen to and Sasuke was on his way to doing so.

He and Mikoto had discovered that Itachi was ill when he was nineteen but at the time it wasn't as bad as it was now. Itachi got sick more often and his body ached but nothing as severe as now. Or at least the complaints weren't as obvious as they were now.

A knock on his office door brought Fugaku out of his thoughts. He scowled at his unfinished paperwork and granted his visitor entry. He wasn't going to get as much work done as he had hoped.

"Hey Uncle."

Shisui strolled in carrying a white paper bag. He cheerfully placed it on Fugaku's desk on an empty corner. Fugaku raised an eyebrow in silent question of what his far off relation was up to.

"I brought you something to eat. Sometimes I think you're worse than Itachi when it comes to feeding yourself."

"Ah. Thank you. How much do I owe you?"

"Don't worry about it." Shisui shook his head. He never accepted money from Itachi's parents. "I gotta go make sure Itachi has taken a lunch break."

 _Always taking care of him…_

Fugaku always wondered why Shisui was still single. Some people enjoyed the single life but someone as caring as Shisui would have made a good match for any lucky girl.

Fugaku frowned and dropped his head into his hands. He was starting to sound like his grandmother.

Fugaku had hated all of the meetings his parents gave into, the ones _he_ gave into. Granted it was thanks to them that he was able to meet Mikoto but meeting all of the women that his grandmother approved of and only the ones that she approved of was exhausting. It was the kind of thing he didn't want for his sons.

But wasn't that what he is doing to Sasuke?

Fugaku chewed slowly, no longer finding the carry-out Shisui had brought him appetizing. It was already disappointing, nothing ever coming close to Mikoto's cooking, but now it was like eating sand.

Sakura Haruno. How do you solve a problem like Sakura Haruno? If he separated the young lady from his son she was a marvelous person. If she was his child he would be proud of how smart and ambitious she was and how kind. Sakura had always been such a gentle person and such a charming girl that he was glad that Sasuke had her as a friend.

But she was a pretty━oh so pretty━girl that with a smile that seemed to have his son tripping all over himself and wrapped around her finger. A distraction from Sasuke's goals is what she was.

Originally Fugaku wasn't happy with the shift in their relationship because he didn't believe in dating while so young. Dating was the precursor to marriage and being a teenager Sasuke should not have been thinking of that part of his future. His focus should have been his studies.

Oto Prep was the best school in the region, still was despite the scandal. The school was able to hush up the stories of abusive teachers and the fact that they encouraged students to seek drugs to help them get through the heavy course loads and the weekly exams Oto favored. They made settlements and arranged quick and easy transfers for students that desired them.

Before the scandal came out Sasuke had asked multiple times to be allowed to transfer to the public school. Fugaku had believed that he would receive a better education at the preparatory school despite Sasuke's claims of it not making a difference, that Sakura Haruno was proof enough that it would not have mattered which school he attended. That hadn't sat well with Fugaku who believed Sasuke only wanted to transfer to be closer to the girl. He wasn't going to allow his son to make such a big decision for a girl, especially not for one he could potentially only have a temporary relationship with.

The Harunos weren't like the Uchihas. Fugaku had initially looked past the tattoos and wild hair of Kizashi Haruno. He was a kind man, jolly despite being such a burly man. But the way their family operated was unusual for Fugaku and the way he had been brought up. Kizashi and Mebuki were unwed when the Uchihas moved into their newly built home and they hadn't gotten married until a year after Sakura was born. That was highly improper in Fugaku's world.

The Harunos were a lot _freer_ than the Uchihas were. They did not care for what society believed was proper. They believed social constructs should not get in the way of the pursuit of happiness. And that was how they raised their daughter.

If Sakura was one of Fugaku's children, he would have supported her ambition to be a doctor without hesitation. But as someone that was dating his son it wasn't completely ideal. She would be busy all of the time and too caught up in her own goals and studies to be able to support Sasuke in his endeavors.

Fugaku didn't want a temporary distraction for Sasuke. He didn't want something so fickle for him, especially not with someone who was raised to not care about their reputation and how society would see any possible indiscretions.

But perhaps that wasn't something he should have ever discussed with a sixteen year old girl that was not his own child.

* * *

Mebuki was never one to mince words. She wasn't typical for what people assumed of a former flower child. She was much more confrontational than her husband who leaned toward punk styles and influences. She didn't regret shouting at Fugaku in his office and calling him out for daring to tell her child that she was only a temporary aspect of his son's life. Just a distraction. Essentially calling Sakura a bump in the road of Sasuke's planned out perfect life.

But she regretted taking it out on Mikoto.

Mebuki should have never taken the fight to the woman who loved her child as if she were her own. Mikoto was overjoyed that her son, whom Mebuki knew was suffering from personal issues alongside dealing with his older brother being ill, had found something that made him happy. Something that gave him some sense of normalcy.

Something that made her own daughter happy as well.

Which was why Mebuki was standing on the front step of the Uchiha's house holding a strawberry shortcake roulade, listening to the quick footfalls approaching the door.

Mikoto opened the door and the women stared at each other, no words passing between them. Mebuki held out the dessert she and Kizashi had made earlier that day and slid the plastic carton that held it onto Mikoto's outstretched hands.  
"Only because this is my favorite."

Mikoto's voice was soft, softer than the small smile she gave Mebuki. She clutched the carton close to her body, as though it were anchoring her.

Mebuki beamed, giving her the smile Mikoto had grown to love after seeing an almost identical one being flashed to her son over the past eighteen years.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _hello. Sorry this is so late guys but...shit happened. I got really sick and was constantly in and out of the ER most of October and the month beforehand I was busy with work stuff and I was spending most of my free time curled up in bed, extremely fatigued and with pain coursing through my body literally every moment._

 _I hope you guys have taken notice of the title and figured out why it fits here._

 _So my portrayal of Fugaku and Kizashi is actually inspired by the same person: my own father. My father still feels as Fugaku does about dating (as in there is no dating, only asking permission to court in the presence of family and then marriage) but his relationship with Sasuke is the same as what ours was when I was a teenager until I fell ill and was diagnosed with lupus. He had some Kizashi here and there but my dad is more like him now then when I was younger. There is a sort of more lenient nature now that it's like "hey why am I going to place so many restrictions on my child when they are already at war with their own body that is placing their own restrictions on them?"_

 _I would like to update more often like before but it really is up to my health. Sometimes this fic does hit too close to home and it didn't help that some asshole decided to steal my other fic and post it on wattpad. That made me never want to write again. He didn't seem to understand that what he did was completely wrong and it shouldn't have taken me calling him out. At least that's how I felt from the pathetic excuse for an apology he sent me. Just as a heads up, I don't upload my fics anywhere else and if that were to ever change I would say so but for now I will only post my fics on fanfiction._

 _P.S.- I have actually started writing another Real Life AU only this time it is a fem!SS story so Sasuke = Satsuki. I currently have 5 chapters of that done but haven't shared it beyond a selective group of people because I wasn't too sure about publishing it. It's a type of fic I know probably only suits the taste of a small group of people. I just love SS so much like even if they were same gendered and the plot of Naruto was exactly the same I would still ship them no matter what. If you are interested in reading it let me know and I will probably upload it here on FF._


	22. Always More Going On

**Chapter 22: Always More Going On**

Sometimes the combination of pale skin and pale colored hair made it seem like Sakura was capable of just fading away. Even when she was asleep in his bed, rose gold locks all mussed up on his gray sheets, it felt like she would just disappear.

It was like the fear that Itachi would just be gone one morning transfered over to Sakura. And no matter how much he tried to ground her to him there was no way to keep her from disappearing.

College was going to suck.

"What time is your family coming back?" Sakura murmured sleepily. "Hey."

Sakura's fingers ghosted across Sasuke's jawline. A barely there touch that still caused his breath to hitch.

"Probably soon," Sasuke mumbled, displeased with having to move from the comfort of his bed. "My mother was very specific when she told me her plans for the afternoon."

Sakura curled up, burying her reddening face into one of his pillows. It wasn't as if Sasuke's mother was privy to what exactly the two of them got up to when they snuck around but it was still embarrassing. It was likely that Mikoto Uchiha knew much more than she was comfortable with.

Although the need to sneak around did not change, it felt different knowing that they were going behind the backs of their very aware parents.

Or at least just Fugaku and Mebuki.

There was an acceptance of the fact that two were dating and that nothing their parents said would stop it, but now Sakura couldn't help but get flustered now that her own mother was cognizant of her sex life.

Avoiding Fugaku was just to avoid the way he would stare at her.

 _I don't need another lecture about teenage pregnancy_ , Sakura groaned into her hands before shuffling around to pick up her clothes from the ground.

"Is Ino still giving you the silent treatment?"

Sakura let out another loud groan and fell backward onto Sasuke's bed. He just had to remind her.

Sakura's little excursion was costing her Prom because as soon as she got home she was grounded.

"Yeah. I just told Karin to give my ticket to Suigetsu. Ino thinks I should have fought against my punishment more. Something about it being cruel and unusual punishment to take Prom away from a Senior girl."

Sasuke snorted and pulled his raglan shirt over his head. The white section was thin and Sakura could make out red lines sloping over his shoulder blades and down his mid back.

"Maybe you should change your shirt?" Sakura mumbled, trailing her fingers over the shadows of the lines.

Sasuke turned to face her, catching the pink dusting across her cheeks and the way she wouldn't look him directly in the eye.

"No."

"Wha—? _No_? Come on Sasuke!" Sakura's face turned an even darker shade. "Everyone's going to see—why do you like messing with me so much?"

Sasuke just gave her a smirk and poked her forehead. Startled, Sakura just blinked as she watched him leave his room.

"Hey! Sasuke Uchiha get back here!"

* * *

Mikoto exhaled a breath she didn't realize she was holding after Sasuke had left the room. It was yet another night of him not speaking to his father. They simply brushed by each other, refusing to look each other in the eye.

As upset as she still was with Fugaku it hurt more to know that there was a divide between her husband and son.

When Sasuke was younger all he wanted was his father's acknowledgment and now it seemed as if he didn't even want to be in the same family.

"This is bad," she thought out loud. She only caught on to the fact she had spoken aloud when Fugaku had turned to face her. Steeling her face into a blank expression, she attempted to hide her embarrassment from him.

A failed attempt. There was no one who knew her like her husband did. There was only a moment's hesitation before he rubbed the back of her hand with the back of his own hand. He trailed it up her arm in a comforting manner.

Sighing, Mikoto dropped her head against Fugaku's shoulder and let him pull her against him.

"I'm still mad at you."

Fugaku snorted but he continued to rub soothing circular patterns on Mikoto's back.

"I didn't expect you to stop."

Fugaku pulled away and brushed his knuckles against her cheek. Frowning , Mikoto turned away and began to clean her kitchen.

Fugaku looked on forlornly as his wife shuffled around the room, going on with her duties to their house.

"How many more times do I need to—"

"I don't know," Mikoto wipes her hands on a rag and set it down only to pick it up again and turn into the laundry room to drop it into one of the hampers.

"We've never fought like this before. We never fight."

"I've never been this," Mikoto wrung her hands into her cardigan for something to do with them, " _angry_. Not with you."

Mikoto rubbed the back of her neck. The stress caused pain to build up and it just frustrated her more. A larger hand pulled her hand away and replaced it in it's rubbing. Fugaku kneaded his thumb in the only manner that ever relieved the tension.

"It's Sasuke you need to apologize to."

Fugaku's hand paused for a moment before continuing its previous action.

"You can't buy your way out of this one Fugaku." Mikoto turned to face her husband, resolve in her face she held his gaze. "You can't swipe your card and stay absent from his life. _Be_ his father. _Talk_ to him."

Mikoto backed away from him, hands clasped together in front of her.

"And I do mean talking to him. Not at him like you're prone to doing."

With that Mikoto exited the kitchen, leaving Fugaku to stand there alone.

* * *

The smell of freshly mown grass and the tickling of warm breeze always felt like heartbreak. Spring was supposed to be a time of new beginnings but it felt more like something was coming to an end.

Karin watched as the ash collected at the end of her cigarette. When bored she just let it pile up at the end before tapping it off. She had been doing that for the past half hour as Ino continued to gripe about Sakura ruining their end of the school year plans.

"She better be free after graduation for your birthday party. I don't care how cross her mom is with her, she is not missing that!"

Karin had been so distracted with balancing the ash so that it wouldn't fall too soon that she almost missed what Ino had said.

"Birthday party?" Karin asked softly. "For me?"

"Well, yeah." Ino rolled her eyes as if it was ridiculous that she was even asking. "We didn't do anything last year and you're turning eighteen so we _have_ to do something special. Sakura better talk to her parents since it was her idea in the first place."

Karin just gaped at her. There was an awkward silence and then Ino yelped.

"Oh my God, you didn't know. It was supposed to be a surprise wasn't it?" Ino tugged on her hair by the roots. "Forehead is going to be so mad!"

Karin snorted and then let out a burst of giggles. Ino flushed pink in embarrassment and puffed out her cheeks.

"Oh wow, Sakura's right you _do_ look like a little piggy," Karin teased her. Ino hooked her arm around Karin's head and neck, dragging here closer.

"Piggy, huh?" Ino dug her knuckles into Karin's scalp.

"My hair!"

"Take it back!"

"Oinker!"

"Ugh!"

Naruto scooted to the other side of the picnic blanket, resting back on his hands and watched as his cousin and Ino wrestled. He looked over at Sai who was eating his karaage and smiling without a care in the world.

Somehow their study plans had turned into a picnic because of the great weather.

"Anyone know what's going on with our Prom plans now that━" Naruto was cut off by Sai elbowing him. Naruto glared at him and was about to ask him what the big deal was until Sai pointed at Ino.

Ino had stopped messing around with Karin and her attention was directed right at Naruto. She had narrowed her eyes at him, daring him to continue talking about her Prom.

Naruto crossed his arms in front of his chest and pouted. It wasn't his fault that Sakura had gotten herself grounded. In his opinion Aunt Mebuki was being unfair. He was sure Mamakoto could convince her to let Sakura, if only because she wanted Sasuke to go to Prom as well.

" _I wasn't planning to go in the first place, moron,"_ had been Sasuke's response. The two had gotten into a fight because Naruto believed that Sasuke should have gone because his girlfriend wanted to go.

"Alright, I'm over it. I will pause the melodrama for now. We can talk about it." Ino combed her fingers through her hair to smooth it back to perfection. "How did you ask Hinata again?"

"I dressed up as Kyu the Fox and wrote Prom with fish cakes in a bowl of ramen."

"I could kill you that is so bad. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Hina liked it thanks!"

"Well, not like we didn't already know how low her standards were," Karin muttered causing Ino to snicker into her hands.

"You guys suck."

* * *

It wasn't often that Izumi ran into a member of the Uchiha outside of Itachi and Shisui's immediate families.

Most of them pretended she didn't exist. They would just pass by her without a second thought.

Not Taiko.

"Matsui," he greeted her.

Izumi stopped walking. Every time they met he called her Matsui. She loved her father, with all of her heart, but the way Taiko said his surname made it sound ugly. It was as though he meant to insult her.

She was sure he has meant it as an insult.

"What's your problem?" Izumi turned on her heel and followed Taiko back toward the public parking area.

Taiko kept walking, ignoring her.

"Hey! I'm talking to you." Izumi gripped his shoulder and pulled hard to spin him around to face her. "Look at me when I'm talking to you."

Taiko yanked his arm out of her hold. He looked down his nose at her with cold eyes. Cold, dark eyes. Nothing like the deep, warm brown of Shisui or Itachi's eyes.

"What?"

Izumi sucked in a breath to calm herself, never averting her gaze.

"I wanna know what your problem is." She crossed her arms in front of her chest, resolve in her face. "Why can't you leave Sasuke and Itachi alone?"

"I don't have time for this."

Taiko made to leave but Izumi grabbed his wrist. Taiko shoved her into a car in order to break free from her hold again.

"Piss off Matsui."

"I'm glad Sasuke got you good," Izumi muttered, rubbing her upper arm. "Hope your eye hurts as bad as it looks."

"Wasn't Sasuke," Taiko mumbled. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and stormed off.

"What?" Izumi gaped at his retreating back. She took one step toward him when someone grabbed her by her elbow.

"You're smarter than that Izumi."

Shisui frowned down at her before loosening his hold. He rubbed soothing circles on her arm where she hit the car.

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"Aren't you?" Izumi countered.

"I am working if you haven't noticed," Shisui retorted dryly, gesturing to his uniform.

"You always do look really sharp in your uniform."

"Don't try to be cute." Shisui crossed his arms and glared at her. "That was really stupid trying to talk to Taiko on your own like that."

"I can handle Taiko. I'm so sick of him throwing my dad's name around like that."

Shisui sighed and patted her shoulder. He was always keeping up a strictly platonic pretense in public.

"A hug won't hurt anything you know." Izumi chewed on her lower lip, holding herself tight by the elbows.

"It probably won't."

Shisui didn't move to embrace her. He was the one that was the most guarded about their relationship. Izumi just let out a defeated sigh and dropped the subject.

"Can you at least walk me to work? It's only a block away."

"I can do that."

Walking side by side down the narrow sidewalk, their fingers brushed against each other. If they seemed to be too close, the city's environment was excuse enough.

* * *

At the edge of the Great Room sat a baby grand piano, untouched except when cleaned for the past 3 years.

Sasuke caressed the Uchiha emblem before lifting up the fall.

"Wow. You're more gentle with it than with me."

"Shut up." Sasuke propped his phone against the fall, turning his face away from the front facing camera to hide the redness that was creeping up his face. He was starting to regret this video call. "What song?"

"You know the one I like," Sakura giggled.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and let his fingers wander along the keys. It had been so long since he touched the family piano. _His_ piano.

"Bear with me."

"Oh hush. Modesty does not become you."

It wasn't modesty that had him hesitating. He grew up with this piano in the house. It was the piano gifted to him when he began to learn to play.

It was the piano he shunned, fingers refusing to dance across the keys, in his chase to be who he thought his father wanted him to be.

"Quiet during performances," he teased Sakura who was rushing out of her parents' café to get somewhere quiet so she could hear him play.

"Just play," she pouted.

"Gladly," he whispered, letting his fingers fall on the appropriate keys.

* * *

The beauty of the design of their home was that despite being quite open it still had its corners to hide behind.

Corners to hide behind and listen as his son once again played the piano he bought for him all those years ago.

The melody was modern, more suited to Sasuke than the pieces he had to play for recitals. A score that Fugaku did not recognize but found beautiful regardless.

This was something that was all Sasuke's. A talent that no one else in their family could boast. Not Itachi or Mikoto. Not even himself.

And Fugaku found that he liked it just like that.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _hi! How's everyone? Sorry this is is late but I've had issues with work—changed positions—and could never really sit down and give this fic the attention it deserved._

 _Also, it's been freezing! I've been spending more time bundles up than typing._

 _I did publish a WIP that has been sitting in my fic folder so if you don't mind yet another Non-Mass from me feel free to check it out it's called A Gift From The Universe._

 _Hope you guys enjoy this transitioning chapter._

 _I picture Sasuke playing River Flows In You by Yiruma. Check it out if you don't know it, it is so beautiful._

 _I'm attempting to publish this on the mobile app so I hope it works!_

 **Edit** _: Ok so I didn't end up loading it through the app; it was garbage to be honest. I like having the horizontal lines and it crapped them out and then when i tried to do an upload and edit later with the lines it decided to crap out on me and all my spacing and paragraphs disappeared. I would not want to do that to your eyes even just for 3 hours._


	23. And If It's Crowded All The Better

**Chapter Twenty-Three: And If It's Crowded All The Better**

There were some Thursdays that Sasuke expected Inoichi to snap and demand his words. To reprimand him for wasting his time by remaining silent.

Sometimes Inoichi Yamanaka would just continue other work, like shuffling notes for other patients or check in on his wife when he should have been giving all of his attention to Sasuke.

If Sasuke were honest, he usually preferred it when Dr. Yamanaka was focused on other things. That way he could just sit there until the time was up and then go home.

But that was only on ordinary days.

On bad days Dr. Yamanaka's indifference grated at his nerves. It was just another tactic to build trust between them, to make it seem like he respected Sasuke's decision not to speak.

But this was neither a bad day or a plain ordinary day. This was a _good_ day.

"I played the piano the other day."

"Really?" Dr. Yamanaka asked as he set his papers down, swiveling his chair to face him. "Don't you play when you instruct?"

"I played it and it wasn't for work."

Sasuke wasn't sure what led him to want to touch his baby grand but all he wanted the other night was to press the keys and hear the sound they made.

There was this peace inside of him he didn't quite understand. He was still going to his father's choice of school and he was still in the middle of a fight with him where neither one of them were speaking to other. So why did he feel so...elated?

"I'm glad you're doing something for you. You're in a much better mood."

Sasuke's brows pulled forward in confusion.

"Everything you do has always been about someone else. You should try to set some time for yourself to do things that are just for you."

Sasuke looked past him, focusing on the pattern of the wallpaper. That was really it wasn't it? Sasuke was being defiant and despite being ordered to quit working he continued going to work. And with each shift he felt a little more free. Despite his father's wishes for him to end his romantic relationship with Sakura the two were still dating.

And even though his father was upset and Sasuke wasn't getting the acknowledgement that he had always wanted, Sasuke had moments when he was somewhat happier.

He wasn't overcome with joy all of the time but he was content and there was a subtle peace within him.

"—and I noticed that they have an excellent music program."

Sasuke's gaze swung back to Inoichi who had continued talking without realizing that Sasuke had been lost in thought.

"What was that?"

"I was just saying how I looked into Senju University because my daughter is attending in the Fall." Dr. Yamanaka took a sip of water before continuing. "And also because you had shown interest in the past."

"I was interested in the Tobirama College of Arts and Sciences for their program on criminal justice."

"And coincidentally the music program falls under the College of Arts and Sciences."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Dr. Yamanaka, not liking how he was trapped into this conversation.

"You knew that HSU had the best music program on this coast outside of Oto Conservatory, didn't you?"

Sasuke refused to answer. He remained silent for the remainder of their session.

* * *

"Don't you think it's a little twisted that we're having Prom the weekend before we have our exams?"

Sakura tapped her pencil on Ino's binder. It was getting harder to get her to focus on studying. She couldn't blame her. One could only take so much reviewing.

"I still don't see why you can't go." Ino blew air up into her bangs, making them flop up and then back down.

Sakura smiled fondly at her. Leave it to Ino to keep dragging the topic even on the day of.

The two girls had skipped school to study right before Ino had to run off to the hairdresser.

"Even if I tried to talk my mother into changing her mind, I already gave my ticket away to Suigetsu."

"Right," Ino mumbled. She drummed her manicured fingers on top of her binder. "Do you think he and Karin might hook up again? I kind of liked the idea of them together."

"We should let them do whatever they want. Don't try to set them up. And besides, not all of us have to date within our friend group. You gotta admit that it's kind of weird."

"Yeah, you have a point."

"As long as we don't all start having kids at the same time I think we're good."

"Oooh lets make some bets." Ino grinned slyly. "Let's see...I say Sai and I get married first but Naruto knocks Hinata up before they even get engaged."

" _Ino!"_ Sakura's face flushed red. Leave it to Ino to talk about their friend that way.

"What? The kid's an idiot. He's most likely to forget protection."

"Sasuke says he's too stupid to figure out how to get someone pregnant."

Ino snorted.

"I'm sure you're the only safe one in the group considering Sasuke's going away for college."

"Yeah, only an hour away." Sakura rolled her eyes and pulled out a set of flash cards.

"You're so confident that we're all going to stay together forever."

"Well, Sai and I are definitely going to be together forever there's no doubt about that." Ino crossed her arms in front of her chest and flashed Sakura a smirk. "And then there's the idiot. He can't get lucky twice so it would be best if he held on tight to Hinata."

Sakura couldn't help the burst of giggles. She took one last look at her her notes before shoving them away.

"Okay I'm done. I can't keep looking at all of these."

"Have you finished going over your speech?"

Sakura audibly gulped and smiled sheepishly. As class valedictorian she was meant to be one of the speech givers at graduation. She almost wished she hadn't worked so hard if it meant she didn't have to stand in front of the entire graduating class and their families.

It made it worse to know that she was following behind their class president and then also Naruto since he was their student body president. The only reason Naruto was even elected into office was because he did so well with speeches.

"You're going to do fine," Ino assured her with a pat on her hand.

"God, I hope so."

* * *

"It's for family only, Mikoto."

Itachi sighed and dragged his feet away from the kitchen. He didn't understand why his father needed to argue. The invitations had been sent out weeks ago and nothing was going to be changed within a week.

The commencement ceremony for Konoha Secondary was in one week. The students just needed to finish up their exams and they could say goodbye to high school.

Itachi was glad that he never had to listen to his parents plan his graduation party. His was for graduating college and he hadn't bothered to show up to his own party. His parents had been angry but he hadn't wanted a party.

Hadn't wanted to be the center of attention yet again.

It frustrated Itachi that he still took attention away from Sasuke when he wasn't even there. Sasuke had played his piano for all of their guests while their father was on the phone and out looking for him.

"We raised our children together. The Uzumakis and the Harunos are coming to Sasuke's party. _That's final_."

As amusing as it was to hear his mother stand her ground on something she knew his father was against, it wouldn't do for them to be upset with each other when the day was for celebrating Sasuke. They needed to focus their attention on their youngest son and his accomplishments.

It was about time Sasuke was the center of attention.

* * *

"God I hate white."

Sakura rolled her eyes and zipped up Karin's dress. She had been complaining every chance she got and had to be forced into the dressing room with a few dresses.

"I can't believe you guys waited until the last minute to get a dress for graduation."

"I don't know why Ino's trying on dresses she already has like five at home. Why can't we wear black or something?"

"I only have three thanks," Ino snapped. "And it's tradition."

Ino twirled in front of the three panel mirror and blew her reflection a kiss.

"Man, I look good in everything!"

"You're such a pig." Sakura pushed her nose up so it looked like a pig's snout. Karin made a few snorting sounds which caused Ino to flash her a rude hand gesture.

"I'm too hungover for this," Karin grumbled.

"Someone had _way_ too much fun at Prom," Sakura teased. The two of them had used this shopping trip to fill her in on the events of the previous night.

She was sad she missed seeing her friends having so much fun but in reality she didn't even want to go to Prom.

Going to Prom and dressing up in a sparkly gown wasn't her. It was one of those things she only agreed to because Ino wanted to go and Karin had as well. Considering Karin didn't have many friends who were girls, Sakura figured she had to drag herself to the event.

Her parents had given her an out by grounding her. But she knew she wouldn't enjoy herself completely just going along with what everyone else wanted her to do.

That's why she found herself jealous of Sasuke sometimes. He didn't worry about what everyone else did. If he didn't want to go out with everyone he had no problem saying so.

She just wished he was the same when it came to his family.

* * *

There was a redheaded woman Sasuke had never met before being led by the arm by Kushina Uzumaki. There were streaks of snowy white in her hair and she was all sharp angles but other than that the two of them looked like they could have been sisters.

Looking closely at her petite frame and her hooded eyes, he recognized those traits in another redhead.

"Auntie Mariko!" Naruto shouted, raising his arms up and knocking Sasuke's cap off of his head. He sprinted over to the small woman and wrapped his arms around her, practically knocking her over.

"Careful idiot!" Karin shrieked. She smacked him with her cap until he finally let her mother go.

Someone's parent called for pictures and the three of them lined up. When they split up by family Sasuke stiffened, uncomfortable yet pleased.

It was unusual for his father to be around for such a long time. And it was weirder for it to be because of him.

"I want to take a picture with Sakura," Naruto grumbled after the fifth rotation of poses.

The Harunos were speaking to the Yamanakas and Sai and taking photos together. It was the first time Sasuke had seen Sakura's parents dressed up so formally but his eyes still narrowed their focus to the short figure between them. Even under her graduation cap, her rose gold hair called out to him like a beacon.

Karin looked up at Naruto and then at Sasuke. Neither boy moved toward their friend.

"Oh geez, I have to do everything." Karin stomped over to Ino and Sakura, her long red hair swinging behind her.

The two of them watched as Ino squealed and trapped Karin in a hug. Ino whipped her phone out from somewhere underneath her gown and immediately began to take selfies with the two shorter girls. After a few shots Karin pulled the two girls by their hands towards the Uzumaki and Uchiha families.

"Hey Ma," Karin walked right past Naruto and Sasuke to her mother, "meet Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka."

"Well aren't you two a pair of cuties." Mariko was a lot more forward than her daughter had been when she first met the girls and hugged them both.

"I want a picture with everyone," Karin announced. She called over Jugo and Suigetsu who were standing off to the side. "Where's Sai?"

"He stayed with my parents." Ino palmed her face in her hands. "Honey! Over here, come on. We're gonna take more pictures."

They all shuffled around each other until they were all positioned just the way Karin wanted it for her photo. She stood in between Ino and Sakura, Ino having leaned in and plopped a kiss on her cheek during one of the shots.

Sasuke wasn't going to read too much into her purposefully shoving Sakura in front of him and then staring pointedly at his father. Karin Uzumaki was a brave one, he would give her that.

He raised a brow at her, silently questioning her action and she just rolled her eyes.

"It's my birthday I can do what I want."

 _Try telling that to my dad_ , Sasuke inwardly grumbled. The day had gone so well so far and he didn't want to push his luck.

Despite what Dr. Yamanaka had said, he didn't think too much about what he wanted. He made plans already and he was sticking to them.

Why couldn't they just realize that what he wanted was just for his father to be proud of him and to acknowledge him? Why couldn't they just leave him alone? It was his life not theirs. Who cared if he used it to live up to his father's expectations?

* * *

Karin tugged at her cardigan sleeves. She felt like her skin was too tight as she stood amongst the crowd of dark haired Uchiha. She couldn't wait for her blond cousin to come back from using the restroom so she didn't stand out so much.

"You look ready to bite someone's head off."

Karin jumped at the sound of Sakura's voice.

"Ugh, finally!" Karin hooked her arm with Sakura's. "What took you so long? I stand out like a sore thumb and it feels weird being here by myself."

"You could have hid in the laundry room," Sakura laughed out. She led the two of them to a table with drinks.

"Auntie Kushina would have noticed."

"I think she's too distracted helping Ms. Mikoto."

"I've been wondering about something." Karin forgoed a plate and picked an hors d'oeuvre straight off a platter and stuck it in her mouth. "Why do you call Mikoto that? Like, you call Auntie, well, Auntie."

Sakura blushed pink and fiddled with the hem of her skirt.

"Well...she's my boyfriend's mother. Shouldn't I be more respectful with her?"

Karin gagged. She drew the attention of one of Sasuke's relatives who frowned at her before skulking away.

"God. Sometimes you're too cute you know that. Makes me sick."

"I love you too, Karin."

The two of them walked around the Uchiha's backyard, trying to keep clear of any of the more uptight relatives. Izumi and Shisui found them and they all moved to the far end, just observing the affair.

"I bet Ryuichi won't let anyone else talk to Sasuke." Shisui pointed out the stocky man standing next to Sasuke. "He use to do that all of the time with Itachi too."

"I don't like him." Karin narrowed her eyes at the man.

Karin had trust issues but she was usually on the mark when it came to people with bad personalities. There was something about the man that made her stomach cramp up just looking at him smile.

Shisui laughed and ruffled her hair. Karin's cheeks warmed up at the gesture. Ryuichi made her stomach cramp up but Shisui━and Izumi too━made her chest feel really warm and a soothing tingle to climb up her spine.

"He's probably going to bore Sasuke with another one of his work stories," Izumi grumbled. "He's so convinced people like━Sakura what's wrong?"

Karin turned to look at Sakura who had gone pale, her freckles standing out even more sharply on her face. Karin followed her gaze to another stocky man that was scowling at Sasuke and Ryuichi.

It only took a second for Karin to recognize him as the cop that use to stalk Sakura around the mall and harass her.

"He's not going to do anything here, Sakura," Shisui tried to assure her, stroking her back to comfort her. "Taiko won't do anything that could potentially embarrass his father, especially in front of the family."

"He's a creep," Karin growled under her breath.

"Please don't cause a scene Karin," Sakura sighed.

"It would be best to reign in your emotions." A strong grip on her shoulder caused Karin to turn around and face Itachi. "We don't want to make Sasuke look bad today."

"I'll be good. I promise."

It was unfortunate that no one had asked Sasuke to behave. Because as soon the words left Karin's mouth, Sasuke and Taiko were shoving at each other.

"Shisui!" Izumi cried out for help as Shisui sprinted across the lawn.

Before Karin could stop her Sakura was already making her way over to the two boys.

 _Goddammit Sakura_ , Karin groaned inwardly, chasing after her. _Where's Ino to help when Sakura can't stay out of it?_

As they got closer to the chaos, Karin was finally able to make out what was being said.

"Why would I be jealous of your stupid brother, huh?" Taiko snarled out as a set of cousins dragged him away. "The family cripple? He's nothing but a fa━"

What he was going to finish saying was anyone's guess. He was cut off by a fist straight to his nose that no one had expected. No one but Naruto who had finally shown up and scooped Sakura up and tossed her over his shoulder so that she couldn't cause anymore damage.

"What is going on here!?"

Everyone stopped where they were standing, silent.

On the patio stood Fugaku and Minato, Kizashi just behind them. It looked like they had been talking inside before all of the commotion.

"I think we should go," Karin whispered to her cousin. She placed a hand on his arm and tried to lead him around everyone but there was no way to escape without notice.

"Your son attacked Taiko." Ryuichi was livid. He marched straight to the patio where the three men were standing. "Is this how you raised your son Fugaku? To start brawls at parties? This isn't the first time I've heard of your son starting fights."

Fugaku turned his gaze toward his youngest son who was glaring at the grass. Sasuke was fuming but refused to look at up at his father.

"And now I hear that the oldest one prefers the company of━"

"And how strange the trend seems to be that Taiko is in all of these confrontations." Fugaku's voice was unsettling soft as he cut Taiko's father off. "What has your son done this time, Ryuichi? Follow little girls around shopping malls again?"

Ryuichi's face burned red from the mortification. He took a step back, confidence wavering.

"Tell me, is that what you've raised your son to do?" Fugaku took a step forward, his gaze never leaving Ryuichi's. "Instead of being concerned about _my_ son, the son who graduated with honors this week and was accepted into Otsutsuki College, perhaps you should consider figuring out why it is that your son is so concerned with the affairs of my children."

"And what of that girl?"

"That girl is my daughter." Kizashi stepped forward from behind Minato. "And the girl your son has been terrorizing."

The usual jovial expression on his face gone, he stood by Fugaku with his arms crossed in front of his chest. His figure was so much more imposing without the usual happy-go-lucky grin on his face.

Karin peeked from the corner of her eye and saw that Sakura had stopped flailing around in an attempt to get Naruto to drop her. Sakura has tried to keep the incident secret and it was coming out in the worst way possible.

"What the fuck? Did that seriously happen Sak?"

"Shut up Naruto!" Karin hissed.

"This isn't the place for this discussion."

No one had seen Mikoto come outside. She had quietly entered the scene and taken her place by her husband's side.

"Party's over."

Kizashi stood by Fugaku's side until Ryuichi and Taiko stalked past them and out through the side. Minato and Kushina helped Mikoto usher everyone out of their home.

"What's going on?" Mebuki whispered to Karin as she brought out the cake she and Kizashi had made for the party. She had missed the entire altercation having been next door trying to bring the cake over. "What is Naruto doing with Sakura? Put my child down."

Naruto finally set Sakura back down on the ground. She didn't look at her mother, she was too busy watching the Uchihas as they stood in the middle of their backyard.

"Did we come at a bad time?" Obito had just entered with Kakashi and Rin in tow, carrying a large gift box.

"I think it's time for us to go home as well." Minato put a hand on his son's back and gently pushed him into the house.

"What? No what about━" Naruto protested as he was shoved through the door.

"Learn to mind your own business for once," Karin snapped at him.

"That means us too, blossom." Kizashi peered down at his daughter grimly. "We have a lot to talk about too."

"But…" Sakura trailed off as she saw the look on Itachi's face.

Itachi was avoiding the stares from his family members as he tried to get Sasuke's attention. He looked so lost and ashamed that Sakura couldn't help but find it heartbreaking.

Today was about Sasuke and it ended in disaster because someone had to make it about Itachi.

When was something in Sasuke's life going to be different?

* * *

 **Day's Note:** I'm sorry for how late this update is. Like, it's been hard to sit down and write lately because I don't have a laptop of my own and I no longer work at a computer desk. Everything I write is usually on my phone and that makes for awkward writing and late updates.

The conversation about doing stuff for oneself between Inoichi and Sasuke is actually something my own therapist reminds me of every week. She encourages me to continue my fic writing because that's something I do for myself and it's something just for me that my family can't touch.

We're reaching the end of the high school era for these kids. I warn you again that this fic was meant to be long.

I have a ko-fi now! You can find the button on the desktop version of my tumblr: pain-somnia. You can also find me on ko-fi through the same username as my fanfic account: chronicallychill. If you're able to donate at all I would appreciate it as I'm trying to save up for my own laptop.

If you guys are interested you can go to my blog on a desktop and find links to some of my fics that I don't post on here or anywhere else just on tumblr.

10 points to whoever figures out where the title of this chapter came from.

I hope to see you guys soon.


	24. What Would It Take?

**Chapter Twenty-Four: What Would It Take For Things To Be Quiet?**

The silence was deafening and Sasuke stared up at his ceiling struggling to sleep. Sometimes his mind would trick itself into thinking that he could still hear the whirring of the CPAP machine.

And then he remembered that Itachi had moved out a week ago.

Sighing, Sasuke turned on his computer and opened up iTunes. He used to need the music to distract him from the wet coughs and whirring coming from the room next door.

Now he needed it to forget that there wasn't going to be anymore sounds coming through the wall.

* * *

Sakura sighed as she stared out of her bedroom window. Sasuke was on the roof again but he was making a point of not looking in the direction of her house.

They hadn't spoken properly since his graduation party. He was always busy with "family stuff" and couldn't hold a conversation for long. And then one day she spotted Shisui and Izumi loading boxes into their cars.

Itachi had followed behind them carrying a few boxes of his own while Sasuke chased after him, voice just loud enough for her to hear his anger from inside her living room.

Although she hadn't had the opportunity to talk to Sasuke about what had occurred at his party she did have the time to analyze everything she knew about Itachi, his girlfriend, and his best friend.

No━scratch that━not his girlfriend and best friend. His girlfriend and his _boyfriend_. A boyfriend he shared with his girlfriend.

She couldn't wrap her head around how that worked. She tried to imagine her and Sasuke in that kind of relationship with either Naruto or Ino and neither scenario seemed to work out beyond imagining Ino bringing Sai into it as well and then making everything even weirder.

A cruder part of her could imagine Sasuke saying something about putting his foot in Naruto or Sai's ass and nothing more. She would sober up and feel ashamed when she realized that she was thinking too hard about the particulars of Itachi's intimate relationship with his partners.

It wasn't any of her business, no matter how curious she was about how it all happened or worked.

But the more her mind wandered to the subject the more it made sense to her when it came to the three of them. They were almost never apart and their relationship never seemed to come to those weird halts like the one she and Sasuke had with Naruto when the latter would awkwardly excuse himself whenever they reached the territory where the three of them as a group became the two of them plus Naruto.

Where as Naruto would chuckle nervously and scratch the back of his neck and try to find where he belonged in the new order of things, Shisui stood bold walking right alongside Itachi and Izumi.

Sakura had thought maybe it had something to do with the three of them being adults, real adults, but with the new information she knew it came with the confidence and security of knowing that what he felt for the both of them was returned to him by both Itachi and Izumi.

They all loved each other equally and for some reason Sakura was imagining a venn diagram made up of the three of them. "Love" sat in the middle where the three of them intersected and it was obviously not that of just friends or family.

Love was a funny thing with the Uchiha she was starting to realize. If she broke down everything they did it seemed to boil down to love.

Sasuke fought and he damaged his own body for the love of his father and because of the love he had for his older brother.

Fugaku Uchiha, even with all of his stoicism and his harsh words, was full of love for a son he didn't know how to talk to but because of that love he would do anything to make his life easier, better.

She knew first hand how easy the words that hurt her came out of him but she also saw the emotion betrayed by his eyes. A trait he shared with his youngest son. They reflected what was in their heart, and Fugaku's eyes had softened even as he bluntly stated that she wasn't from the type of background that his family expected of a girl that would stand by his son.

He was the type to do what was needed. It didn't matter if he liked it or not.

And then even with Taiko. He was cruel and it was all for the lack of love in his own home. Never feeling adequate enough for his own father that wanted a different son, he lashed out at the ones he was compared to and he thought had everything. The looks, the talent, the brains, and even the love of two parents that he wanted.

Perhaps if his father had been a better one to him he wouldn't have been envious of what Itachi and Sasuke had.

And maybe then he wouldn't have tried to break the two of them down and rob them of what he couldn't have.

Sighing once more, Sakura tapped her finger on the glass of her window willing Sasuke with her thoughts to look her way.

 _Talk to me talk to me talk to me…_

* * *

His father never brought up the graduation party fiasco.

Sasuke frowned at his dinner. He grit his teeth as the sound of forks and knives clinked against plates, the only sounds at the table. They took to eating in the sun room, the dining room table too large for the three of them.

Too large and imposing and it made the silence at meals that more prominent with all of the space between them.

Sasuke was tired of all of the silence.

* * *

The ball was always in Sasuke's court. But Sakura wouldn't be Sakura if she didn't walk over to his side and asked him to play.

It wouldn't be the first time that she approached him first and it probably wouldn't be the last.

She had taken this path hundreds of times over the past few years and yet all she could think about was the first time she did it.

She placed one foot against the metal bars of the fence between her family's property and his and used her upper body

strength to pull herself up and she kept moving until she could climb over the scrolled design at the top of the iron fencing.

Quiet and sticking to the shadows, she made her way to the vine covered lattice wall and made her ascent all the way up to the balcony that connected to Sasuke's and what used to be Itachi's bedrooms.

She always used the window except for the first time she climbed up the wall. Because just like now, Itachi wasn't in his room and no one else was home that day.

Only this time she knew Itachi wasn't coming back home. Back then it was just a fear. Now it was reality.

"It's too quiet," Sasuke said in lieu of greeting. He hadn't even looked away from his ceiling.

Sakura peered over at his desk. The desktop was on and music was coming through the speakers.

" _It's weird. The house feels bigger when it's so quiet. So empty."_

Sakura sat down on the edge of his bed and removed her shoes. She lifted the duvet and scooted underneath the covering. Without hesitation this time, she wrapped an arm around Sasuke's waist.

He adjusted his body so that she could rest her head on his chest. They shifted and molded to one another and Sakura was glad for it.

Glad that after these past few years she didn't have to tiptoe around him and that they were comfortable with each other.

That she didn't have to take guesses at what was allowed.

Sakura curled against him and he turned onto his side so they could curl up with their legs tangled.

Sasuke sighed into her hair as she nuzzled her face into his shirt.

"Karin finally decided on going to the community college. She was accepted to Suna but she doesn't want to be so far away from home." Sakura clutched at the back of his shirt, twisting it in her grip. "I'm kind of glad she's going to the community college. It means I can still see her every week."

Sasuke hummed to let her know that he was listening.

Sakura kept rambling, telling him everything that was going on with their friends that he missed in his self imposed isolation.

Her voice filled the space and slowly, Sasuke drifted off to sleep.

* * *

With how many times she had been to Riverside to visit the design district and to go shopping, Mikoto had not once visited Shisui's apartment.

She considered him family and yet she had to put his address in her car's navigation system in order to locate where he lived.

She felt a little ashamed of herself for that fact.

Mikoto had made her home the center of all of their interaction. She tried to make it a place her children and all of their friends wanted to be in. She set up a media room and she made sure a pool was built into the backyard. There was a fire pit perfect for roasting marshmallows when they camped out back.

But perhaps she should have focused more on life outside of her home.

Maybe then, her son and his lifestyle wouldn't confuse her so much. She loved him and she would accept him but she was just so lost.

Itachi was with Izumi but he was also with Shisui. And then Shisui was also with Izumi and they were all together.

There was something right about that but still her mind couldn't process it.

Did that mean Itachi wouldn't marry Izumi? Because that wouldn't be fair to Shisui? What about grandkids? Would Shisui's kids with Izumi's be her grandkids or would only the children of Itachi and Izumi be her grandkids? Was she allowed to claim all of them?

And what happened during fights? Did one of them have to choose a side or did they sit back and play referee.

" _It's none of our business,"_ Fugaku had told her. " _It's_ their _relationship. Not yours. What happens inside the walls of their home doesn't concern us beyond the fact that they are family. They'll let us know our place in their lives when they are ready."_

Mikoto still felt out of sorts at how easily Fugaku accepted it all. He just grabbed his thermos from her, pressed a kiss to her hair, and then went off to work. All so easily as if it were just any other day.

The only difference was that he no longer spoke of Ryuichi or any plans for their families to get together like they usually did at least once a month.

She wouldn't have allowed for any more of those get togethers, she refused to allow it, but it was nice to know that they were both on the same page without having to discuss it.

It was his childhood friend but sometimes friendships didn't have to last long, ties had to be severed.

Mikoto frowned at the lack of available parking in front of the building. It was all meter parking and not a single spot open. She had to circle around the block before she finally found a public parking garage right across from the side of the building.

It wasn't a very convenient place for her son and Shisui to live. Although if Izumi planned to move in as well it would probably be easy for her to use public transportation to reach the salon she worked at.

 _How does that work with three? Do they all share the same bed? Doesn't it get crowded?_

"None of my business," she muttered to herself, not happy that she could hear her husband's voice scolding her in her mind. She gathered her purse and the tupperware full of homemade dango she had made earlier.

She had purposefully avoided using a disposable container.

Tupperware had to be returned. Which meant that there would be a next time.

* * *

Falling into Sakura was easy. It was an act so practiced that loving her was as simple as breathing.

Connecting the dots of the freckles on her thigh, Sasuke traced random patterns onto her skin with the pads of his fingers. He followed them up to her hip and to the scattering up her ribs. They covered almost every inch of her and just like the night sky he could search for them like stars and discover a new one━one he never noticed before━and just have more of her to love.

He adored those freckles.

When he was sixteen and Sakura first laid completely bare before him there was a part of him that had wanted to just try to put his mouth on every inch of skin that was freckled.

But there was a louder part of him that was stuck on how no one in his family talked to him. How he was always left in the dark.

No one told him then that Itachi was sick. No one told him now that Itachi had planned to leave.

The frustration built in him and he imprinted that frustration onto Sakura's skin with bruises from too rough handling.

" _There's really no reason why this should be okay," he muttered, too ashamed to look her in the eyes as he stared at the bruises on her hips and inner thighs._

 _She always bruised so easily and this wasn't going to be an exception. He was going to have to throw out the sheets somewhere his family wouldn't be able to find them if he couldn't get the blood stain out._

" _I love you. And that should be reason enough." Sakura wrapped his duvet around herself. Shyly she added, "Besides, I kind of liked it."_

 _Sasuke snorted, not quite believing her. He wasn't going to pretend that their first time was a great experience. It could have been a lot better for her but he wasn't exactly thinking straight._

" _Are you okay now?" Sakura rubbed at his forearm. "Feel a bit better?"_

He didn't feel better. Not then and not now. But for just a moment there was nothing else. Just soft skin and softer sighs.

And the smell of apples.

Sasuke breathed in Sakura's scent and pressed a kiss to her hair before ghosting his fingers across the top of her thighs and inward.

As easy as breathing.

Sakura gasped out when he curled his fingers and pumped them at a leisurely pace. She cupped the base of his throat, right where his neck met his shoulders and drew him toward her. She pressed soft kisses to his jawline and down his throat and sighed softly against his ear, mewling as he touched her just the way he knew she liked.

She cried out against his chest, pressing opened mouth kisses to distract herself from making any sounds that were too loud as he thrusted into her. Sasuke dropped to his forearms, bracing himself with them to prop himself up so he didn't crush her.

This was the way he liked it. As close as possible, breaths puffing out against each other's faces. Alternating between soft and harsh panting until the sound cushioned his ears and all he saw was Sakura.

There in his bed, it was just them in the world.

And just for a moment, everything was quiet.

* * *

Sasuke was always best in the dawn.

Sakura smiled softly to herself, her eyes roaming over his sleeping face. His lashes fluttered like butterfly wings in his sleep and his mouth always fell open, slightly parted. He was so unguarded.

This was how she liked him. None of the tenseness of the day remained and he could be at peace.

The sun was barely peeking through the trees that made the boundary of the property line and the only sounds were of Sasuke's murmuring and little snores with the occasional early bird chirping from somewhere in the yard.

It was so easy when she was the only one awake to pretend that they were the only ones in the world.

Later on in the day she would have to share Sasuke with the rest of the world. But this. This was just for her.

This moment was just for them.

Sasuke's nose scrunched up when she scooted away ready to get up and go. The lack of her warmth and pressure against his side causing him to stir a bit.

 _I shouldn't but…_

Sakura laid back down and relaxed her body. She let the arm that was reaching toward her in his sleep wrap itself around her waist.

Sighing, she closed her eyes and leaned against his chest.

It wouldn't hurt to let herself enjoy the kingdom built up of his soft sheets and his arms and the breaths that puffed out of his mouth onto the top of her head for just a little longer.

Wouldn't hurt to stay a little longer in their kingdom built just for two.

* * *

 **Day's Notes:** hello everyone. Finally there's an update! Sorry it took so long but I've been distracted with life and with SasuSaku month. If you're interested in reading those I only posted one of them on FF and it's called The Lion  & The Ram. All of the others were only posted on tumblr which you can find on my blog (pain-somnia) under the tag #ssm18.

The title comes from the song Louder Than Thunder by The Devil Wears Prada. I played it on repeat for a whole two days because I forgot how much I loved that song and was just recently reminded of it.

To the guest that reviewed and asked about last chapter's title: you're right! It came from the song All My Friends by LCD Soundsystem. It's sometimes used for graduation playlists.


	25. It's A Long Drive

**Chapter Twenty-Five: It's A Long Drive**

The days were long but they were also quick. The days were blurring together and Sasuke wasn't entirely sure what the date exactly was. If it weren't for his mother constantly reminding him of how he needed to get to packing and shopping for his new dorm he wouldn't even have been aware of how quickly his move in date was approaching.

"Why are you even moving into a dorm?" Sasuke cut Naruto off in his ranting. He had come over to play video games in the media room and had started whining about how his mother was constantly on his case.

"Life would be easier don't you think?" Naruto rolled his eyes. "No fighting for parking or waking early as hell to fight against traffic and make sure I get to class on time."

Sasuke snorted. The excuse sounded reasonable but he knew his spoiled friend had played his parents.

"As if you would sign up for any classes before lunch time."

"You're right I wouldn't."

They were quiet after that, only the sound of buttons clicking and the upbeat music coming through the speakers filling the room.

"You're going to come back on weekends, right?"

Indra Otsutsuki College was only a two hour drive away. Sasuke could technically drive up to the city every weekend and spend two days visiting his family and friends and getting his laundry done at home and letting his mother stuff him with home cooking.

But the chance of that actually happening was very low.

Four hours of driving would cut into valuable time to study or work on assignments. As much as the idea irritated him he knew he would have to join at least one study group if not more depending on what his professors were like. Most students would only be free on weekends to meet up.

On top of the drive, Sasuke would be coming up to see Dr. Yamanaka which was more of a priority than seeing his friends according to his parents. He wasn't going to drive up on a Saturday and ditch his psychiatrist when that was the whole point of driving up to the city in the first place.

"We'll see."

* * *

It needed a new radio and when the seasons changed she was going to have to wait almost an hour for it to warm up properly but Sakura was already in love with her car.

"It's red," Ino giggled. "Can we call it Ladybug?"

The little Bug was adorable and compact, perfect for city parking. Sakura had cooed over it the whole weekend as her mother gave her a refresher on car maintenance in the parking lot behind their family's café.

"Has Sasuke commented on your car yet?"

"He called it 'fitting'," Sakura made air quotes with her fingers, "whatever the hell that means.

"I think that's your boyfriend's way of calling you cute," Sai guessed. "And small."

"Oh!" Ino gasped. "We should call it Karin Jr. because you know, it's red and small."

"I'm not naming my car after Karin and she will probably kill you for the explanation to that suggestion."

"How are you going to fornicate in it?" Sai asked. "Does Sasuke even fit in the car? That's some kind of gymnastics."

"Sai!"

Sakura's face heated up as Ino burst into a fit of laughter. The way Ino's eyes kept flitting over to Sai the whole time Sakura was showing off her car should have been a warning that he was going to say something inappropriate. After years of dating ino had developed a sixth sense for when Sai was about to say something to embarrass one of their friends.

"I'm going home!"

"Oh, come on Sakura." Ino tugged on her arm to keep her from storming off. "Sai was only kidding."

"No, I really wanna know how that━"

Ino elbowed Sai and gave him a look that had him shutting his mouth tight.

"No I have to go home anyway. There's some stuff I wanna get done before Sasuke leaves this week. He's gotta move into his dorm and then has orientation stuff on Monday."

"Oh. Are you guys doing anything special before he leaves?"

"Why is it inappropriate for _me_ to bring up their sex life but not you?" Sai interjected before Sakura could answer.

"Because that wasn't referencing their sex life," Ino groaned, wiping a hand down her face. "At least that wasn't my intention."

"Yeah, leaving now."

Sakura waved behind her as she made her way to the driver's side of her car. She could hear Ino reprimanding Sai through the car window. Something about minding the subject of conversation when they were on the sidewalk in front of her parents' shop.

As much as they liked to tag team against her she was going to miss seeing them everyday. Ino was going to the same school and they tried to align their schedules to match and to have the same classes but it wasn't possible to completely match up. And then Sai was going to the art school. The school was in the city and shared campus grounds with Senju University, but outside of scheduled meetups they weren't going to be able to run into him as often as they used to.

Naruto was having the same struggle. The three of them had tried hard to get into the same classes but they were only successful when it came to their required UNIV courses that all underclassmen had to take.

" _I'm going to fail if you guys aren't in my science credit with me!"_ Naruto had wailed when he realized he was going to be alone in his Biology class. Sakura and Ino had been able to calm him down only after thirty minutes of assurance that they would get together to study.

Sakura was already missing everyone even though most of her friends were going to be going to schools nearby. All except one.

And she was going to miss him most of all.

* * *

The summer between high school and college was supposed to feel more monumental than it did. At least that was what Sasuke assumed.

Left and right all of his classmates were packing up their things and salivating for their first taste of real freedom. No more curfews or parents breathing down their necks.

But all he felt was numb to it all.

Going away to school didn't feel like he was going to be any more free than he was at home. It didn't feel like freedom to be alone and far away.

"You have everything ready?" Itachi asked, sliding a teacup across the bartop.

"Yeah I've got everything packed up and just sitting in my car."

"You've got swipes for food. Make sure to use them. Hm?" Shisui stared him down from where he was standing by the sink cleaning vegetables in a vinegar wash.

It was always odd watching Shisui in a domestic setting. Sasuke was used to Itachi or Izumi working around each other and acting like real adults. Shisui never really had that chance when they were at his parents' house.

Sasuke just had to remember that it was Shisui's apartment first before Itachi moved in. He was so used to the three of them as a unit he sometimes forgot they were individuals.

"Izumi still at work?"

"Yeah," Shisui replied as he moved on to slicing ingredients. "Unfortunately she couldn't get the day off because she wanted to save her free day to see you off."

"You guys are still coming to see me off?" Sasuke's mouth quirked to the side and he bit his lower lip. Although Shisui and Itachi still saw his dad at work and his mother was visiting them at their apartment often the three of them hadn't come over the entire summer.

"Well, father and mother did invite us," Itachi answered. He averted his gaze, looking at his teacup instead of Sasuke, and drummed his fingers against the ceramic cup.

"Is that," Sasuke shrugged his shoulders as he tried to find a better way to ask and failing, "okay?"

"Father has been," Itachi looked up at the ceiling and then off to the side as if the refrigerator would grant him the answer, "oddly accepting."

"What."

"Yeah, it's kind of freaky…" Shisui shivered and shook his head. "I expected him to either ignore us or say something awful but he's just...living life as usual. Except occasionally he'll check in and it's so awkward. I think I'm in trouble when he pulls me into his office and it's literally just to ask how Itachi is doing."

"That's...really confusing."

"You're telling me." Shisui sighed and prepared a wok for stir-fry. "I have so much anxiety now."

Itachi laughed and poured himself more tea, taking out his medication he needed to take with his meal. Shisui served a portion for Itachi and then a much larger portion for Sasuke.

"Eat up kid." Shisui glared, gesturing with his fingers to his eyes and back at Sasuke to say he was keeping his on him.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and made a show of taking a bite of chicken. The more Sasuke tried to eat, the blander the food tasted.

 _Dad accepted Itachi as he is…_

Sasuke pushed his food around his plate with his fork.

 _That's kind of...irritating._

* * *

"He makes it look so easy," Sakura grumbled, forcefully capping her paint pen. She grabbed another color and shook the pen so that the paint would flow to the tip.

She followed in parallel to the previous color as much as she could, trying to keep her lines as straight as possible with no wobbles.

"At least my handwriting is nicer I guess."

Sakura sighed and grabbed another color, tracing over the lettering she had drawn on the CD with pencil. When she finished she threw her hands up in the air in triumph. She tilted her head to the side and examined her work.

"Oh, he's going to laugh at me."

Sakura burst into giggles. She knew she was no artist but she was sure she did a good enough job. It was her third attempt at trying to decorate the CD and it was the best of the set.

 _I hope he likes it._

* * *

Sasuke lifted his fork full of pasta and let it unravel, letting it plop down on his plate. He twirled his fork to gather some pasta and repeated the process.

"Stop playing with your food," Fugaku grumbled. He hadn't commented on the dish of choice but his lips had tightened into a straight line and practically disappeared when he noticed the vegetarian dish.

Sasuke didn't have to wonder why that was the case even though his mother had prepared a dish he liked that just happened to be vegetarian.

"I'm packing some up so you can have it for dinner when you get to your dorm," Mikoto offered. Her eyes shifted down to his plate of where he was mashing zucchini and roasted tomatoes with his fork. "You'll remember to eat right?"

Sasuke shrugged and went back to twirling his pasta around his fork. He twirled it and twirled it, attempting to gather as much pasta as he could.

"It will probably be late," Shisui attempted to answer for him. "He'll probably unpack all of his stuff and then crash right after. Sasuke will probably end up eating his dinner for breakfast."

"I've never been to Otsutsuki College but the campus photos look beautiful," Izumi budged in, taking the cue from Shisui. "It must be exciting, getting away from the city."

"You're going to do fine."

Sasuke lifted his head at the sound of his brother's voice. Itachi gave his usual gentle reassuring smile. Sasuke nodded but made no attempt to join the conversation.

Lunch had gone like that the whole day and if Sasuke didn't block out the noise for most of it he would have probably stormed off. The amount of attention he was receiving was making his skin feel tight and the spaces between his fingers itch.

Normally during meal times discussions centered around work or Itachi's health. Seldom did they come around to talking about Sasuke━and that's what it was, about him not with him. It didn't really seem to matter if he was there or not.

So he checked out.

 _I should just leave early…_

It wasn't like there was really any reason he should spend more time at home. He watched them all greet each other awkwardly and then sat through lunch where they bumbled through the topic of Sasuke's university life.

 _All of my stuff is already in my car anyway._

Izumi gave him a wavering smile as she picked up his plate, helping his mother clear the table. Off in the great room, he could hear his father criticizing Shisui's apartment and asking him and Itachi when they planned to move a more suitable apartment, closer to the hospital and with more room. His mother burst into a peal of laughter and Izumi apologized repeatedly about something to do with the kitchen sink.

Scooting his chair back, Sasuke removed himself from the dining room and made his way to the foyer. He grabbed his keys, gripping them in his fist so they wouldn't jingle and give him away. As silently as possible he slipped out the front door, shutting it softly. Without turning back he made his way to his car. Rounding the hood to get to the driver's side door.

He would have smoothly made his getaway if it weren't for the fact Sakura was leaning against the side of his Jeep.

"How━?"

"Figured you would try to take off without saying anything." Sakura rolled her eyes and stood on her toes, looping her arms around his neck. "I love you but you're such an idiot sometimes."

"Well," Sasuke wrapped his fingers around her wrists, "I gotta go before they figure out what I did."

"You were going to leave me hanging weren't you?" Sakura narrowed her eyes at him, lips pursing. "And here I am with a gift for you."

"Gift?" Sasuke quirked his mouth to the side. He had said his goodbyes to his friends the day before, not sure if he was going to be able to before he left and Sakura hadn't said anything about a gift.

"Yep, it's already in your car actually. Check the passenger seat." Sakura tugged, keeping a hold of him and pressed a chaste kiss to his mouth. "Don't leave me hanging when you leave. Call or text me after you've settled, 'kay?"

"Aa." Sasuke nodded and gave her another quick kiss before pulling out of her embrace. "But I really do have to go now."

"Yeah. yeah. I should get going to before they find out that you escaped."

Sasuke snuck into his car and pulled away as he put his seatbelt on, rushing out of the driveway and out of the cul-de-sac.

"Just going to put this on silent," he muttered tossing his phone on the passenger seat.

Groping around his hand met with a plastic CD case. He flipped it to look at the clear front and in Sakura's bubbly handwriting it just read "i love you" in all lowercase letters over a colorful spiral pattern.

 _Well, I've got a long drive ahead of me_ , he chuckled inwardly taking the disc out of its case. _It's always going to be a long drive…_

* * *

 **Day's Notes:** remember how I said this wasn't a High School AU? Well it's not, 'cause now it's a College AU. We've reached the second arc to KFT.

Sorry I haven't updated soon enough but I've been busy working on a zine! You should check out sasusakuzine on tumblr (that's the url) for more info 'cause pre-orders actually start Feb 3, 2019 and will end March 28, 2019. You guys are going to love it a lot.

You can find me on Wordpress my site is  
There's a link to the playlist on the site under the KFT tag  
It has all of my works excluding TPOAM and for the moment Can I Be Yours?


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